I'm sure all of you who travel the shores of Sylvan will notice a tremendous drop in our world's population in the last few weeks. I'm sure it concerns you, and it greatly concerns me and the rest of the staff.
I have spent hours and hours and hours on Sylvan over the last nearly four years. I love this place. We have worked and worked to get new players, and keep existing ones. We create new events, new dungeons, new quests, new monsters, new fun things for players to do. It begins to seem to me that the more we do, the less players we have. I don't know where the players are, I sure wish I did.
I have heard some rumors over the last few weeks so I thought I'd try to address some of them:
Where are the staffers?
Staff is like everyone else. We also have real lives. The economy has not been kind to player and Staffer alike. Yes, I'd love to have more staff, but honestly, the staff I have hired in the recent past have been such disappointments as to make me rather do without than hire more like that. Also, 4 players in game, how many staffers do we need?
What has happened to the events?
Time after time, we have had events. Staff announces the events often days a head of time in the forums or on shard. Sometimes they are spur of the moment events, like paintball or a champ spawn. Many times we practically beg to get enough players to show up so the event can be run. Staff would love nothing better than to run events, every day, and have players turn up to participate.
Players are bored... if they just had something more to do...
We have added and added new items, new content, new dungeon, new quest, all of Felucca, new things for crafters. It seems with each new thing we add, the fewer players we have. As if the more we give you, the more you decide to find somewhere else to play. We can't win. The players want more, but it's never enough. We can't make players have fun, they have to take an active role in making their fun.
It's just too hard for players to log in here. Can't you make it easier to log in?
We have some players, especially the Vista people, have a bit of trouble logging in. IF the people follow what we tell them, they get in, 99% of the time. If they don't do what we say, then I don't know what more we can do for them. I have one new player who has been trying for a week or two to log in. I have asked him at least 3 times where did he get his UO, did he download if from FilePlanet? Yeah, yeah. Today he messages Marlenus and tells him he has UO 9th anniversary edition. Marlenus tells him to go to FilePlanet and download.
Now, could we easier for people to log in? Sure we can, all we have to do is get rid of all the custom graphics that we have. That means custom craftables, custom clothing, custom deco items. Get rid of that, we'll be good to go. I've mentioned this in the past, and most have felt they'd rather have a bit of a weird log in than to lose the custom items that make Sylvan more special. On a side note, over Sylvan's 3 1/2 years of action, we have had no less that 4 people who were going to switch our custom graphic slots so we could make it easier to log in. Like so many of the staffers we have had, they vanish without a word, the job unfinished.
Other players are recruiting for their shards from Sylvan.
As much as this frustrates me, and is against the shard rules, I am not sure how to handle it. If these players with their new shards, tell others, and the others take off... then I guess Sylvan has no hold for them. The grass is always greener, you know. IF anyone hears of another player recruiting on Sylvan for their own or another shard, if there is a PM from them, a screen shot of them recruiting in game, Staff, especially me needs the proof and then those accounts will be banned.
If we only had our website up, that would fix it.
Yes, we have been without a website for awhile after necessary information was lost so we could not renew the domain name. The other website a player created for us was also taken down. We do have a new domain name and someone who says they are working on a website for us. This like everything else hinges on real life demands. As it stands, we have our forums up and continually running. They have TONS of information on them. The Extreme 100 voting site brings potential players right to our forums.
Remember, UOGateway is gone, so no one sees us on their site. ConnectUO has been broken for ages, so we can't really depend on them for correct information on us. I'm told ConnectUO is being fixed, but it seems to be taking forever.
How about we switch to RunUO 2? We will have more content.
This is very much an option open to us. Again, this will mean we lose all our custom pretties we love, graphics, clothing, deco items. It also will mean all accounts will need to be remade, characters remade all things redone, because, from all my understanding, you can not put RunUO 2 into a RunUO 1 shard, you must start over. If this is what everyone wants, we can start the process as our scriptor and server host have the time. Most likely the augment system will go along with the custom items.
Where do we go from here?
I love Sylvan. I have fought for a long time to keep Sylvan alive and going. I have gone through countless Staff and even more countless players. I'm not ready to give up on Sylvan. I want to see Sylvan continue and flourish and grow. I don't know what more I or other Staff can do. All that I have written here was not intended to be a bitch or a downer. It was intended to just answer some issues. As to where do we go, how do we make it better, you give me the magic answer, I'll do it.
This is an area where we can discuss our options. All comments welcome, flames, and rudeness are to be left out.
:-\ hmmmm, i dunno acacia hun, ...for sure i know that i is hooked on this shard...if it ends up that we get more people by re doing entire shard, losing all custom items and going to run uo 2 thing..fine with me, i am going nowhere. If i can help with doing something for the website...(i like playing with websites when i get time)..i can even help if ye wanna use space on one of our sites...emmm, i know the staffers are still around..most times i log in theres some wierd guy singing songs at my front door, lol *points to clown*
My bottom line...do whatever it takes to make the shard great...dont need to add any more dungeons or lands...we got plenty to hunt..maybe we should redo shard into run uo 2, more people can come to us that way.
Custom graphics are great and all that, many people hold precious their items from days of old...but what good are ancient arties if there's nobody to drool over them...bring on new sylvan..bring in new people...give us all new accounts and take away sockets, lol
"How about we switch to RunUO 2? We will have more content."
If the above will make things smoother, easier for new players and that's the way the shard needs to go then I'm all for it. Can always build things back up again I'm sure.
*goes to take screenshots of her dear old home*
;) then it's agreed, hahaha Looking for new members for FW guild on new Sylvan shard...*giggles* on a serious note tho..it does seem to be the way forward, we all must adapt with the times or be left behind.
I came from the pay shard of Atlantic. :P That is when uogateway was the thing to use. ( and still do ) ;D
BUT as time goes on and things upgrade ( and I hate to do it too ) >:( To stay ahead and become better ( there will always be a new "Windows" that will come on a new computer. ( god I hate Vista ) One computer at home runs 98se and I love it. The laptop runs xp. ( memory hog ) Just for programs sake it might be time to run the latest n greatest if we can. Then again I use uogateway and windows 98. :-\
That is my $0.05 worth. I like things just the way they are. :-*
Time to toss in my 2cents. I am one of the staffers who just cant seem to find enough time to play. My real life is a shambels right now but i still try to get on at a min of a few hours a week. This Shard has been my home now for over 3 years and have played on many other free shards since sphereserver came out. Before that i played on Great Lakes pay shard. I have seen em all have there up's and down's. What do I think we need to keep going?
1. A switch over to Mondaines legacy is a must.
2. i KNOW were a lax rp/pvp only but i really think fel should be pretty much a free for all ( seems this is what the shards that have 25+ on at a time and doing good have )
3. Staff wise I think this shard has some of the finest staff i have ever had the privalge to work with so see no probs there at all
4 WEB PAGE and MORE VOTEING SITES this is a must have. Gota have all the bells and whistels to attract more players.
5. patiance like i said earlier been on all kinds of free shards and there worse than a roller coaster UP AND DOWN
These are just my thoughts on the subject
I love Sylvan Heart and all the custom stuff, I would be very sad to see it all go. Though if everyone feels that it must change, then I give my vote of assent as well.
I have not had much time to play lately due to school and spending any extra time I do have with family. I think this is partly due to the demographics of our player base. Half of us are in school or have little ones at home we are trying to raise, and those activities leave little time for much else. I have to agree with Lamalas in that all things have ups and downs - and while things may look grim for SH, my words of advice are: Do not be discouraged; we have made it this far as a shard and I know we can continue.
What I think is that we all need a hug =D *hugs to all*
I was introduced to UO a little over a year ago now. I was helped by some really great players and staff through my noob stage (though I'm still a noob in a lot of ways) and it's really the social aspect that has me coming back. I think this is a great shard and I don't think there could another one for me. I know it's lame, but it's like a family here. There are some people you like and others you don't but you still live and play together. I have had some great friends leave due to rl issues. Someone once told me that Sylvan is just going through a transfer of generation, the older players must leave because of rl and the younger players must step up. I guess it is possible there are not that many younger UO gamers anymore but I still believe we can step up to plate! But yeah....school is a pain, it's withheld me from playing this past month.
I'll agree with Mina though, new players want the best thing out there. It will make the shard more attractive to perspective players and make life easier for the rest once we all get used to it. Sure, I'm not one for change (heck, I still aint used to my sockets) but it's always nice to have a fresh start. Everyone is in the same boat and everyone can help struggle together.
I have no complainant about staff or events, or being board (too much) cuz there is usually someone else on who you can at least hold a conversation with. I think the rp/pvp is actually starting to pick up. Thane's rp quest was amazingly impressive and I think will start more player run rp's. I know I'm already cooking up ideas ^.^
sorry, tonight i'm in a rambling mood >.<
I justed wanted to chime in with my 2 cents here.
Where are the staffers?: I see staffers almost everyday. I live in an off time zone now, and There are 2 staffers that really make an effort to be around for us, i see them a lot. I suggest if you need GM assitance and can't get it within a day or two, drop a PM on forums and see if one can arrange to meet you. A Euro timezone staffer would be a great addition though.
What has happened to events?: With a low population it is harder to run events. All I can say is if you are a GM and you see 8 or 10 players on, offer one. If you are a player and an event is offered support it!!!
Players are bored....if they just had something more to do...: Well, my suggestion for this is to get a shardwide storyline going. If battles are fought for a reason instead of just senseless killing then it is more fun in my opinion anyways. Take some of the safety out of the game, if an area suddenly became populated with extremely tough monsters, then players will group up and respond.
It's just too hard to log in here. Can't you make it easier to log in?: Actually I personally had an easier time logging into sylvan then about a 1/2 dozen other shards. There are a couple that are very straightforward, but they are POL, not RunUO.
Other players are recruiting for thier shards from Sylvan.: Well, anyone who tries to recruit me will only get themselves reported and banned. This is a two sided issue unfortunately and the fact is if someone can be recruited away, maybe they weren't happy here in the first place.
If only we had a website up that would fix it: I totally agree we need a lot more exposure. A good website is definitely a draw as well as being seen in more places. The problem is Willingness, Ability and Time. Seems everyone has two out of three of these.
How about we switch to RUNUO 2.0 we will have more content?: So now we come to a question of Quality vs. Quantity. A lot of people are saying to make this switch, but I fear that wiping the shard and starting new will be frustrating to some and heartbreaking to others. Perhaps people came here from RunUO 2.0 shards, then going to that will just make us another shard and we will lose our uniqueness. If we had a scriptor who could add customs back into RunUO 2.0 I'd be more in favor of it. I also think our change needs to be more one of style than substance.
Where do we go from here? The answer is simple - We go in whatever direction Acacia has wanted the shard to go for a long time. The population is at a low right now so impact of changes will be minimal. If we need to get rid of sockets, now is the time. There are many other things we could do as well. Personally, I'd like to see a character class sytem in place. I have seen this on other shards, but never really taken a close look at it. Perhaps making people taking certain classes and limiting them to a select number of skills would be an option, or capping certain skills and make it cost double after that. I know scripting would probably be an issue with that, but that is what I would enjoy. Just think of a party containing a rogue, a fighter, a healer, a mage, and other possible classes. Would be great to see.
Ok my 5 cents Since i always say more then others... <evil grin>
for me, I have never had the capability to kill the Big mobs that all require huge augments to do. And they rest of the mobs pay pretty poorly. With that said i have made an honest living finding alternate income in the game and doing what i like most anyway, house designing. Some of the ideas even for that have been a no go. and On flip side I know I have a few things that most others dont. What has frustrated me the most has been inconsistency with answers and also that even tho the auctions are awesome, Unless your a augmented money mob killing fool, you have no chance and getting some of the really kewl stuff that you need or want because it is being horded by the upper class.
I like Sylv and I havent played as much lately out of reasons above and some boredom because of reasons above. I have no intention of going to a different shard or want to. I have had some great friendships and a few I would rather not be on the same planet with. Nothing is perfect but this shard is the closest I have found for a private shard.
My suggestion and reasons. Convert to the new shard and make everyone start from mostly scratch.
I would say Veteran accounts would get 1 mill in GP to start for helping train or set up house whatever. And allowed one character with Skills maxxed in their choice.
OR make it a 120 in every skill to start, Only allow 1 character per account and then everyone can do everything across the board.
OR Everyone starts from scratch with nothing but a free house and the Family of Sylv all work together to train each other up and such.
Just my 5 cents Not meant as negative post but just so you understand my "irritations with the current system" and how that can help with a new system
Personally, I'd hate to see the augment system go. But if it ended up having to be that way it wouldn't drive me away. I'd be disappointed.....I've just recently had my last item socketed and I've been here almost 3 years. It's been a long, fun, interesting journey to this point regarding my pursuit of sockets lol. So much in between, can't begin to tell it...
As for the auction.....I love it too......even when the really richie riches end up winning the great stuff! Many of them have accumulated their "wealth" over a number of years or countless hunts, mining, whatever may be the case....in other words, they worked for it. Congrats to them. In recent months I've actually been able to win a couple of really nice items that a year ago I never would've been able to get. So I got out there and hunted more, mined val more etc.
Well which ever way this turns out, I plan to stick around to be a part of it :)
;D Glad everyone is answering this post, it sure is sweet to know that everyone is so wanting to stick with this shard, i bet acacia is feeling great about that.
Looks like everyone is willing to go for the new content, regardless of consequences....will be interesting to see what happens now. :)
Quote from: Mina on November 26, 2008, 12:40:38 PM
;D Glad everyone is answering this post, it sure is sweet to know that everyone is so wanting to stick with this shard, i bet acacia is feeling great about that.
Looks like everyone is willing to go for the new content, regardless of consequences....will be interesting to see what happens now. :)
It certainly brings a spot of happiness to me that so many are willing to stick with Sylvan no matter what. It is actually.. encouraging. Yes, I think that's the right word. :)
I am glad and saddened over the change. I love slyvan and will follow Acacia where she takes us.
The staff is great here andbeing in Germany I am on weird hours and there have been three Gms i see all the time. In that note i want to thank them for working so hard. I mainly play a craftier and has taken me sometime to get my stills where they are useful to the shard in my eyes.
Sockets i could take or leave them i don't have many.
a start over is where my sadness comes in. I have been through a change over and it was very ruff and frustrating. It is very hard to do anything due to everyone is at one level and can no one can help if it is needed. but in that aspect it made us work more together to achieve things.
This is my 2 cents.
ok... rather than quote things I agree and or disagree with throughout this post.. I'll probly just echo a lot... disagree some and agree some...
Where are the staffers?
Seems someone will always complain if a staffer is not on *right when they want them* . For goodness sake... you can't please everyone. Our staffers have been on lots.. and some have even been on despite serious health and/or other RL issues.. the hard work and dedication of the ones I'm thinking of SHOULD NOT BE QUESTIONED.
What has happened to the events?
What has happened to them? My question for you who asked this is: "where have you been?"
Players are bored... if they just had something more to do...
Like the emperor and his new cloths... he's gotta always have something new... honestly... what more can Sylvan do? Like Acacia said, there's been tons added and honestly I'd be willing to bet that in terms of new stuff being added and "things to do" Sylvan is miles ahead of the other UO competition. My suggestion is keep up the good work.
It's just too hard for players to log in here. Can't you make it easier to log in?
Sylvan is one of the best places to find help as to how to get in... not only for Sylvan but the help given here can also help you on other shards... you know what is required? You have to read it. For those who have read it and still have problems (yes, I've been there too)... just know that we here at Sylvan don't know *everything* and sometimes you just hit problems that we haven't hit yet or don't know what to do for yet. But in general, getting in isn't too hard and help is plenteous.
Other players are recruiting for their shards from Sylvan.
Like Acacia said... don't... ya get banned. What more can be done? Can't be much more of a server punishment than that...
If we only had our website up, that would fix it.
I thought maybe we had one somewhere... if you want a website... maybe I can whip one out in a few hours... I put together the Fae site In a few hours. Granted it isn't anything extremely fancy... but it only took me a few hours. Address is "http://freewebs.com/faegovernment" (Much of the worded content was provided via other players such as Stroem - so thanks to all of them! :) )
How about we switch to RunUO 2? We will have more content.
Ok here is the big one... NO NO NO NO NO PLEEEEEASE. Our custom stuff is part of the shard history... it is part of what makes it different and special. I am NOT willing to give it up. If people wanted "better graphics" they'd play WoW or some free 3D MMORPG or something... UO is not all about graphics these days... honestly there is no way it can compete visually with modern games... compaired to modern games... UO and Sylvan stink. I'm not trying to be mean, but that is just how I see it. I don't come here because the graphics are better and I don't need upgraded graphics to stay here... and losing a large part of the history of the shard sure isn't inspiring to me... it is downright depressing. If I wanted better graphics, I could play WoW with my other friends. Again, I'm NOT willing to give up what we have just to "upgrade the graphics"... pffft.
Where do we go from here?
I've read some suggestions... my take on RunUo 2, I've already given you... but another I read was for a class system. I came to Sylvan specifically because it DID NOT have a class system. If I wanted a class system, there are a bazillion other shards that have them... or again I could play WoW and get better graphics and an advanced class system. I say give me liberty or give me death... I want to be whatever I want to be with almost no limitations... in other words, exactly what we have now except maybe a higher total skill point cap... which I am working on hehe ;) (so higher is available... so I'm NOT saying you should raise the default... it is fine.)
Another suggestion was that we make Fel a Free-for all... well it pretty much is... we just like you to RP it at least a little. I don't think we need rampant PVP in Fel... another reason I came to Sylvan is because I disliked PvP (various terrible past experiences)... Slyvan has actually renewed my liking for some PvP... Sylvan is fine the way it is!! We have PvE and PvP held in a wonderful balance... PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS. I do not want to relive the nightmares I went through before lol.
Another thing I hear alot is the contrast (and usually not in a good light) between the "rich upper class" and the "poor lower class" or the "rich overpowered ppl" and the "poor weaklings". Ok, I've made that argument myself before in so many words... and while I stand by my general idea... that argument for it was bad... *shakes head at self*... Deal is... the "rich overpowered upper class" worked to get where they are and they earned it and deserve it. And the great thing is ANYONE CAN DO IT!!! Yes even you can become "overpowered" and "rich" LOL (I know I'm using the term "overpowered" BUT I'm using it only because that is the general term for the rich ppl... I am not trying to say there is a lack of balance in power... I think it is balanced fine). Anyone can work and become powerful enough to fight mean mobs. It just takes time and work and patience. BUT!!! What if you don't wanna be the powerful knight who can slay anything? What if you're not into being powerful... or you think those other people look too powerful for their own good and for yours? What can you do?? Well, I am glad to say there are plenty of options available for you! You can be a "weak" fighter if you want and still makes tons of money! OH MY!! HOW??? I'm glad you asked.. I'm pretty sure I know a powerful player, who may be able to take on just about anything, but I'd bet most of their fortune was made not on the battle field but in mining val and probly being a crafter on their weaker characters LOL! I know other players who make money being miners and crafters who are weak fighters... in a system as diverse and unique as Sylvan, there are sooo many possibilities. As I heard one person say, they make money doing housing... there you have it, the possibilities are near endless. SO, the next time you want to complain about the "rich upper class" just don't... instead, spend your time making money and becoming one of em LOL!! And once you get there, you earned it so enjoy it! You spent the hours to get there, enjoy it! Also, another thing to enjoy is to help others get there :) Myself... some may consider me "overpowered" because I can take on some mean stuff... but honestly... in terms of gold.. I'm poooooor LOL It just goes to show how diverse this system is... you can be just about anything if you work to do so.
Another thing I've heard is having a shard-wide story and making some parts of the land suddenly have dangerous monsters.... well... ummm... we did that just recently. And it was tremendously fun... I mean fun like I'd sell my right arm to keep having (obvious exageration... not *that* fun lol) but seriously... it was great and the story is yet to end!! That's right! You can still join! Sadly the gm running it, is having hard RL issues... it is understandable that he can not run it as much as he would like, but let me just say that it has been a blast, and I invite the whole shard to join. So what if you don't know how to RP... come and learn - it is easy and fun and we try to be understanding to new RPers ;) We'll only kill ya a few times before you learn your lesson muwahaha (kidding kidding lol)
Now Some things to keep in mind.....
Sylvan has a LOT of competition... and I've venture to say that probly most of it is NOT other shards.... honestly... honestly!! If you like another shard, you can play BOTH! With that being a viable option, I'd say other shards are really not the biggest competition that we are facing. Yes, you heard me right, vote all day and night, but other shards are probably not our main competition.
So what is our competition? I'd say Uo itself is just oldschool... it competes with new games like WoW... all kinds of new games come and rise up and are very popular... that kinda thing moves people from games like UO and thus from Sylvan... And this is a restatement... but switching to runUO2, I seriously doubt will pull people from those other games just because RunUo2 has a little better graphics UO-wise. pfft.
We also compete with RL... we have many in school, some in military, many working, many parents, various holidays and family events... this isn't something we should worry about competing with because we can't really measure up to RL issues... but these things are still things to keep in mind when we see low numbers.
Bottom line... what makes Sylvan special...what sets it apart?
Seems to me the answer is, it is a shard with a rich history and a fantastic player base and staff workers. The players care and staff care and both try to help people. I don't want to give up ANY of that... not one small piece... not even one piece of pixel-crack!!! NO NO NO! This shard is incredible and miles ahead of other shards in my opinion just the way it is... I don't want to change it. I don't want to lose any part of what makes it special. And again I restate, the rich history, the player base, and the staff are what makes it special. The stuff is certainly part of the rich history.
Just because our numbers fall for a while... doesn't mean we need to throw out the old and bring in something new... we ain't broke and we don't need fixing. The only thing we may need is more staffers, and I only say that because I think it might help alleviate some of our current staff if we had a few more dependable staff around. Our current staff are incredible and do fantastically, but I'm sure they'd not mind having a hand now and then hehe ;)
Also, good news, I recently heard from an older player who has returned - a friend of mine actually :D Also, I'm getting one of my RL friends to join up - and he's coming from playing WoW... now does that not just make ya feel good... don't that make ya smile? Don't these two pieces of good news speak volumes in themselves... really, don't they?? Why would anyone come back to a shard they felt was "out-dated" and "lacking fun" - or why would anyone come from playing WoW to playing Sylvan - Again I say... doesn't it all speak volumes! :D
Quote from: Cpt_Starfox on November 27, 2008, 09:41:59 AM
How about we switch to RunUO 2? We will have more content.
Ok here is the big one... NO NO NO NO NO PLEEEEEASE. Our custom stuff is part of the shard history... it is part of what makes it different and special. I am NOT willing to give it up. If people wanted "better graphics" they'd play WoW or some free 3D MMORPG or something... UO is not all about graphics these days... honestly there is no way it can compete visually with modern games... compaired to modern games... UO and Sylvan stink. I'm not trying to be mean, but that is just how I see it. I don't come here because the graphics are better and I don't need upgraded graphics to stay here... and losing a large part of the history of the shard sure isn't inspiring to me... it is downright depressing. If I wanted better graphics, I could play WoW with my other friends. Again, I'm NOT willing to give up what we have just to "upgrade the graphics"... pffft.
I think what makes us special isn't our custom stuff, but our players and staff. That's where the
shard history is in my opinion. And we're not discussing a switch over for new graphics only. We need more content and a 2.0 server. We are extremely limited on 1.0. It is NOT supported by the RUNUO team at all and if we switch over to 2.0 we open the door to a ton more custom scripts, custom deco, etc... We can make Sylvan better doing this. This will, in a lot of our eyes, attract new players, bring old players back and keep current players. (I logged on twice recently and I was the only person logged in for over an hour each time!!) We can get rid of the socket system, start out fresh and not have to create monsters that no UO player should ever be able to kill single handedly because sockets GREATLY overpower the players. (and yes, my players panties are even socketed.. she's gotta run with the big boys. lol) My player is the queen of pixel crack, has a ton of customs, rares and awesome pets, BUT I welcome the change. I will probably get a copy of the current Sylvan to have on my computer so I can sit in my house and pet my shinies. :D
I hope if we decide to make this change over that our current players decide to make the move with us. It will be a journey we can take together and I'm sure everyone's loyalty to the shard will be rewarded as well.
Let's not all start thinking that this is a 100% sure thing just yet. From what I hear, we're going to do a whole lot of testing and tweaking and all kinds of other stuff before we make any kind of final decision.
The good news is... Everyone seems to be willing to stick with Sylvan whether this happens or not. Thank you all! :)
One more point that I thought of that I wanted to make...
Sylvan probably has more history and more character in one single house than most other shards probably do in their entire world. As a matter of fact, I think we probably have more history and character in one house than all of WoW even does in all it's scripted overblown graphic system. No, I am not willing to change that for any "upgrade". "custom scripts, custom deco, etc" = graphics upgrade pretty much and maybe a few new things we can do... but I'd not think it'd give us that many new abilities and honestly I hardly care. I don't care how many new things it gives, it won't replace the old in my book. Also, just since i heard this last night, I think I've already found two players who agree. And, if you don't like the socket system and think it makes people overpowered... just don't use it! There is always that option.
I DO NOT want to get rid of sockets and I do not think it makes people overpowered. There is still a balance. There are harder monsters for socketed players - even those players that are fully socketed can still find a challenge, and that shows balance in my book. Just because someone can solo a hard monster doesn't mean there isn't balance.
And the history of the shard is in it's players and staff BUT IT IS ALSO in the custom things our shard has.
I originally came to Sylvan because it was the way it is... and I stay because it has stayed the way it is for the most part. I'm not looking for it to change... and I'm hoping it doesn't... there are plenty of other shards I can play.... but I want to play Sylvan because it is the way it is.
"Let's not all start thinking that this is a 100% sure thing just yet. From what I hear, we're going to do a whole lot of testing and tweaking and all kinds of other stuff before we make any kind of final decision."
hmm - "going to do" - It sounds like it is coming... uggg - and it sounds less and less like I should use the term "we" anymore.
Another thing... if it ever changes (IF - and I serious hope not)... that just means in the mean time while the testing is going on and whatever... that at least I if no-one else would feel like I shouldn't bother even playing seeing as how everything I do is just going to be destroyed and taken for granted anyway.
Again... let me restate in so many words... Just because we go through a low time right now doesn't mean we *must* "upgrade or die" (on the contrary, I'd see the upgrade as more of a death, and I don't think I'm alone on that) - consider all the factors for goodness sake. People have real lives and during this time of year with test, and test study time, and papers due, and economy crunch to help your work life, and plenty of family life with holidays and w/e, and allergies and weather changes to help people's health... honestly... there are a lot bigger and more important factors to consider than a pitiful upgrade. Graphics ain't the only blasted thing that affects our numbers.... uggg... I seriously doubt graphics are going to attract all that many if any new players considering I don't care how much junk you add, it ain't gonna compete with the new games in terms of graphics anyway. Those people seeking graphics will likely always find another better place... those are the people who see the greener grass on the other side of every fence... if you do serious think this will grab new people, take a moment and think - do you really wanna change your player demographic that much? Quality over Quantity people!!!!
Also. another thought... on this day of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful the shard we currently have, and honestly... if I wanted a change, I think I'd leave and find one because there are probably other shards who already have this "upgrade". The fact that I and other players are still here despite the lack of this "upgrade" says to me that we don't need an "upgrade" to stay.
Also, dumping the customs and everything we accomplished throughout the years of this shard is NOT appreciating our roots and our history in my opinion. It seems more like taking it all for granted. Maybe you feel differently - you have that right... but that is just how I feel.
i am having a problm fith geat way
Well suppose i best say somthing too jk :P, I love this shard ive been here oh for 900 some odd days yee know couple of years almost since the begining and ive never found a shard or any other game accually that i like more, I love the peaple here and the staff there really what keep me comeing back, I know i dissapear from time to time one time was almost a year before i was able to come back but yet i return allways dreading to think that i might come back and it will all be gone this place is my escape from reality and the troubles in my life. Im all for whatever needs to be done to make this home even greater and grow. Even tho i love the little custom graphics and all my little ancient artifacts *grins and goes plays with his artys*. Well that was my 10cents :P
Oh yess an one more thing i forgot to add i also think that there is so many of us that love it here and love how the shard is and runs yuh it sucks that at times there may not be much of anyone on, But the way the shard is and everything about it is what makes it so great and why there is those of us who have been here for so long and have never left........
Sounds like everyone is jumping to conclusions here and all this thread was, is a sounding board for Acacia and ideas and how people feel.
Nothing has been decided from what i read.
If the shard were to go to 2.0 does not mean all the custom graphics are gone. that subject hasnt even been breached yet as if its possible to bring em over and if someone can script it.( i can assure you that it could be figured out.) we have enough people here with multiple talents to probably figure it out. I for one have a programming degree and am the goto person for the company i work for in the IT dept. When it breaks and no one can figure it out.. they call me. And I am SURE that i am not the only IT or programmer here.
It seems like most would like the new content, I would because of the new deco ideas it opens up for us.
Just because its changing version doesnt mean old sylvan is gone. And even tho I have only been here just over a year... Its the people not the material virtual items that make the history of this shard.
They are virtual items and if you dont think that sylvan staff in some way wont try to bring some of that over or show their appreciation in some ways... well your nuts, sorry im just not a pretty speaker.
Change is good sometimes and the benefits outweigh the cons in this case.
If a ship looks like it could be sinking are you going to keep using the same ship or get a new one that works better, goes faster, makes more profit etc.
If your selling a product that goes out of fad are you going to keep on selling it or make something better to entice your customers to spend more with you.
Change happens for a reason and its a good thing... otherwise we would still all be hiding in caves and cooking with Dinasour poop.
Khayman
"If a ship looks like it could be sinking are you going to keep using the same ship or get a new one that works better, goes faster, makes more profit etc.
If your selling a product that goes out of fad are you going to keep on selling it or make something better to entice your customers to spend more with you."
UO in general pretty much fell out of fad and sank ages ago... if I wanted something "in fad" I'd go to WoW with my friends who have been virtually begging me to do so for ages. I could almost care less about "in fad" or a slight "update" to graphics that should have been scraped ages ago like UO graphics (should have been by modern standards that is).
"If the shard were to go to 2.0 does not mean all the custom graphics are gone."
"if you dont think that sylvan staff in some way wont try to bring some of that over or show their appreciation in some ways... well your nuts"
1. The impression I got was it would be gone, but if everything can all be saved.. then maybe it wouldn't be so bad...
2. I also got the impression that if there was a change of that magnitude, that they wanted to get rid of the way things are. Maybe not all the custom graphics, but other things tho such as the socket system and the current balance in game in general (mobs/economy/etc)... And I am not for that at all even in the least.
3. Sylvan ain't sinking. That is just about an insult to those of us who (as Stroem put it) have been here for so long and have stayed here. If Sylvan is in such bad shape... why are we even here in the first place??? I'd not come here much less stay here as long as I have if I thought the place has been falling apart forever.
"Change happens for a reason and its a good thing"
This isn't only about change... partly, yes, but not totally.
"Its the people not the material virtual items that make the history of this shard"
People live the history - the "artifacts" show and record it and retell it long after the people have gone. I'm not planning on giving that up nor do I think we need to "rebalance" everthing that really doesn't need it.
Let me give a "short" spill on balance... just because a tough player can solo just about anything they want given about 45 mins to do it... doesn't mean there is a lack of balance!!!!!
Ok, so what signs would show a lack of balance?
1. Is the shard too easy? Too newbie friendly?
Answer = NO - if you want to die and you think you are all that can't find a challenge anymore.... Well, I can certainly point you to some places that might change your mind. Sure you might have beaten them before given the 2yrs+ you've probly been here... but still can you solo it? How well can you solo it? What's the smallest group you can do it with? Do you have the skills it would take to run a very successful group hunt? - There are challenges like that for the high-end gamer. Note: Just because you think that some boss should not be soloable and then someone does it, doesn't mean we lack balance... just means ya make a harder boss! Muwahaha!! I think I could enjoy doing that myself hehe hmmm *thinks*
2. Well is the shard too hard due to making everything for the end-gamers?
Answer = NO - There are dungeons of almost every level! Sylvan has a near perfect stair-step balanced mob system to lead you from easy to nightmarishly hard. I've walked my way up through it and I know that it works :)
3. Can only one type of player succeed in fights? OR can only one type of player make money?
Answer = NO, in most cases you can use any type of character to do anything you want... You just have to have the skills and know-how to pull it off ;) As far as Money, on Sylvan... for goodness sake... you can make money just being creative and selling Christmas ornaments, so... I don't see how there is an issue there. There are more ways to make money in Sylvan than I care to count... if one way doesn't make enough money for you, just combine it with another way. Granted Sylvan can hardly accommodate every single "business" type and make sure it ends being filthy rich.... like if you try to sell plain boots to make money... don't expect to be filthy rich in one day lol - but the Sylvan economy is fairly accommodating to variety and creative thinking :)
Bottom line - Sylvan rocks the way it is and I don't care to lose that... and I don't see me changing my mind on any of this any time soon either just to let ya know ;)
I just want to take a moment to thank Starfox for his comments. The "other side" was very quiet during the discussion of changing how the vendors work, then got very vocal afterwards. If others are strongly opposed to a major change, I would like to hear from them as well, and if others are strongly in favor of a major change they should speak out also. I am personally sorta on the fence. I want to see the shard do better and there is a good chance making this change could help us. RunUO no longer provides support to 1.0 so the fact of the matter is everyday we fall further and further behind other shards who are able to offer more. The graphics would remain mostly the same, however we'd get new dungeons, new monsters, and be able to make new custom items. I don't know if an arrangement could be made for a player to be able to transfer a few items from the old shard to the new, I am definitely in favor of that, as many of the vets have worked extremely hard to get their things and I know I have at least one item that I worked many, many months to obtain. Again, remember to keep it all friendly here and again thanks Starfox for the great comments.
I'd just like to make a statement here.
I think no matter which way we go.. either switch over to 2.0 or stay with shard the way it currently is we should support Acacia in whatever decision she makes. She was the one that stepped up and took over when the original owner of Sylvan pulled the plug unexpectedly. She spends more time logged in than any of you can EVER imagine. This shard has been her "baby" for years. We have her to thank that there has even been a Sylvan for the past 2+ years. Whatever decision she makes I can assure you it won't be one that's taken lightly or made without MUCH thought and consideration of the pros and cons and how it will affect the shard long term and our players.
I read this and couldn't help but give my opinion. As an admin for a L2 server I know how Acacia feels. It's very frustrating thing. But Acacia my dear..my sweet Sylvan Admin..it's not the server. With economy and real life stuff, people just might not be having the time. Or in this case at the moment it's the holidays. During the holidays games tend to slow because people are sharing their time with family and friends.
I know my want to be in sylvan has been hindered by the crash of my computer. Which I've already spent 200$ on fixing just so I could return. *giggles* Now I just need to download...get in..yadda yadda.
If the webpage is a problem I don't mind helping with that. I mean I offered to do it like a year ago.
Sylvan is the best UO server I've ever played and even love over some other games. And I've played a lot of servers and a lot of games. If I can do anything to help at all just tell me. Now that things are settled and I got my computer working again I got lots of time to shed on sylvan.
"If a ship looks like it could be sinking are you going to keep using the same ship or get a new one that works better, goes faster, makes more profit etc.
If your selling a product that goes out of fad are you going to keep on selling it or make something better to entice your customers to spend more with you."
Ok Link please dont take that out of context I was not and am not referring to Sylvan as a sinking ship or fad.
My point was that when things are not going "good" then Change may improve things.
I stand for the change but either way its still a good shard and Acacia and all the gms(tho some of them irritate me from time to time LOL) have done a good job. This is the best priv shard I have ever been on and I have gm'd on one of the first private shards there ever was.
Acacia has NOT taken the shard down the wrong path before and I am sure she wont this time neither
I do want to point out a few things if we do and i say IF we do change over. The majority of the work will all be on t he scripter. As to our customs a lot of them use the item id of the mondaines legacy items so it would all rely on a scripter picking and chooseing what new items we wanted ( maybe getting rid of a few old ) The Change will require time and patiance its not a quick fast easy thing. Goiing to a new game core would require adding new scripts trying to add in old scripts etc etc . Only thing else i can say is if you love it here Roll with it either way Its not the game that makes the game but the people that play it. And while i am here i want to apologize to everyone players and staff alike my real life is really fubared. But i will try to still make as much time to be here as i can And SUPPORT Acacia 100% in what ever direction she decides to take our lil home away from home.
i agree with everyone, whatever direction shard is going to go in..whatever Acacia puts forth, we are all going to be behind her. It's great to get so many opinions.. i know it has really sucked recently on the shard, not many around at all. Me.. i get on when i can, sometimes it's just a couple of us on(yet still events get offered by gm's). Times are hard as we all know, my work kills my game time some days and others have their own rl issues. We should just all do whatever we can to promote the shard, to get more than just our friends on it and help lift the populatiuon up a lil.
Quote from: Mirage on November 28, 2008, 05:01:11 PM
I read this and couldn't help but give my opinion. As an admin for a L2 server I know how Acacia feels. It's very frustrating thing. But Acacia my dear..my sweet Sylvan Admin..it's not the server. With economy and real life stuff, people just might not be having the time. Or in this case at the moment it's the holidays. During the holidays games tend to slow because people are sharing their time with family and friends.
Mirage is correct the way the economy has been people having to worry about real life , holidays, and so on time for gaming goes down, i myself have been off due to well health and money issues leave it at that and i want to play its just i dont have the time, also for the younger ones mid terms and such are right around the corner and creep closer and closer with everyday, its true some people prefer new and improved games so they go and get a ps3 or a nintendo wii, or a xbox 360 but some still stick with the *oldies* i love sylvan the way it is i want to play it more but because of current things going on my online time has decreased now hopefully health issue will find a answer after dec. 4th but how many people spend the holidays with family away from your own computer, economy has forced people to push gaming aside of overtime at ther jobs if they even still have jobs and arnt looking for new ones. why change a great thing sylvan is what it is for not just the people not just the admins not just the omg look a shinny *drool* but all of them combined and formed into one you subtract 1 of them from the equation and something goes out of wack ...kinda like rocket science something gets added wrong and it ends up in a downfall I love sylvan ive got my moments wher i need a break from it this time its a unwanted break but one i have to take *curses hospitals doctors and anything medical related as well as economy* but i look forward to signing on going through my shinnies talking to friends trading shinnies and so on the way its always been.
I have kinda stayed away from this post, because it saddens me to see sylvan at such a low point. But to see so many responses from people weather they be good or bad brightens it all because it shows people still care and still have interest in our good ol home know as Sylvan. So here goes my 2 cents which is pretty much just repeating things you have already heard but is my opinion all the same.....
Switching to a better running program would give sylvan more options, sure, but would take away everything that makes sylvan unique.
The low sever player count could be comeing from numerous things these days and times, it could be holidays, midterms and school (which i know are kicking my butt) or it could be the harsh economy. Sylvan has so much to do on it and to offer, that i personally doubt its the server itself that is lacking. While we all agree there are things that could be done to improve the old sylvan (yes there is a long list i am sure) "most" are simple fixes. And whats to say even when we do the new program switch over it will all be fixed or better? sometimes newer isn't better. I have been on sylvan almost 2 years now, and have never been one for collecting shinies (except for pets now adays "pets his babies") but people who have collected them for the years sylvan has ran i am sure will miss them if they have to start over. Either way i am completely positive the great players of this great shard will support the decisions of the bunny goddess and the great staff who help make this shard what it is, just figured i would toss my 2 cents out there.
Oh one more thing... I saw a thing about "over powerd money makers and over powerd players"...I admit Kalif's and Aadors boxers even has sockets in em, but sockets, nor power or money is hard to come by...you have to put the time and effort into it. And not only fighters make money. i have a miner who can make money as quick as my fighters. It just all takes time and effort. And as far as monster/player power balance, i believe cpt_starfox said it earlier, there is a creature for almost every skill level there is. Wheather it be in fel or tokuno or trammel. You just have to find it. And i personally will tell ya there are tons of things out there that can't be soloed by one person (and yes i am one who tries to solo everything and alot lately i pay the price (insurance price that is) so please don't let that be a issue.
"there is a creature for almost every skill level there is. Wheather it be in fel or tokuno or trammel. You just have to find it."
Actually I think what was said is the lower skill monsters loot is blah. and I know it was set that way. so i think that is really in invalid argument unless you want to kill 200 little mobs to match the one big mobs which also keep in mind the little mobs dont give the good loot or shineys that the big mobs do that the power players sell to other powerplayers because they have the gold to afford it.
its a vicious circle LOL. but oh well, I still have the coolest house <sticks out tounge> lol
Its a wash and irrelevant but I did want to point out that it really isnt a good point.
Either way ill stick around. Acacia if you want help coding. I can give it a shot . I dont prefer C sharp but all i need is a few examples of what you have going on and I can run with it and prob either finish your current stuff or help with change to 2.0 shard. I have offered multi times.
Thing is higher level mobs may drop better things but that makes people want to get stronger to get those better things becoming stronger involves playing more until eventually you can take on the bigger mobs even then you still improve on the little things sometimes people bunker down at a certain mob level and then ask why they cant take on the bigger things like other people those are the people who just need a nudge, and the thing is ive gotten mythic augs from a v.bunny so possibilities are always out ther for money jumps to help your goals, some of the simplist creatures to kill drop some of the most wanted valuables people are trying to buy.
But this is not the topic for this debate.
I couldent help but notice i just went to xtreme 100 and voted and i clicked on details and there is no shard information, a lil story on the lands perhaps, and no pictures! I think pictures should deffinatly be there i feal that when someone looks at the pictures it kind of tells you what the lands are like and gives you a small feal for the game, ahh well just something i noticed :P
I am in support on what ever Acacia decides , I have alot of shinies some are one of a kinds , and i have sockets in all of my characters and some of the rarest of tameables and i am willing to give all of that up if it helps make the shard better , if we do switch to 2.0 cant we make new custom art ? well what ever is decided i will always stick with sylvan even though i am not on as often as i would like ,
I know noone has seen myself or jasmineleigh on as of recently...here is why
I have recently reenlisted back into the Army and I will be stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. We have been packing the house up as much as we can with Jas being pregnant and having 2 lil boys around...Its not that we gave up on playing the shard its that we have been extremely busy with getting things done here in real life before we start divulging back into game life =)
Now my 2 cents pretty much is repeated off of everyone and I am very pleased to see that everyone has has put in their comments.
Going to runUO 2.0 will be a good thing and a bad thing...good thing being that their is a lot of new content that can be put into the server and I mean A LOT!!!...now the bad thing of course being all the time and effort people put into getting everything they own...myself all i really care about for my characters is my pets that I have gained on the shard...Sure I would greatly miss em a whole bunch, but if in the end to make the shard better would be to redo it and change to 2.0 I will be all for it...
Just my 2 cents ...I found em layin on the floor so I thought I would spend em on here =)
Jasmineleigh and I love u all and we will be back in the near future once we get settled in down in North Carolina...We miss you all...God Speed!
Whatever direction this goes, I will support Acacia, and Sylvan as much as I can.
About the complexity of connecting to Sylvan hearts Shard:
It is not complex, but there are various "old" data that leads to wrong results, I am currently surfing around and seeking correct way of connection. I`we found already that using 9th anniversary UO client seems like a bad idea (Seems like 9th anniversary Client isnt the cause of problems), judging by forum posts ( Used this FTP link ftp://largedownloads.ea.com/pub/uo/setup-1.46.0.3.exe that I found through http://www.sylvandreams.co.uk/content/view/44/15/ from there I got 9th anniversary client Age of Shadows). Now I`m Downloading UOML_setup as I am typing this. I will post results of what i`we done if I succeed.
Usually new users disappear just becouse there are no instructions how-to...with big red letters on main page of forum :D
Need to find a stable setup that works for everyone, and put it out with red letters;...easy to say though :(
EDIT: As i`we said before, connection is not complex, but the data is scattered all over the forum, after a few hours of data compilation, I think I managed to connect, UOgateway detects my client and everything seems to work.
I made a compiled thread of everything i had done, in this thread http://www.sylvandreams.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4224.0
I am not an active player on SH but I have been lurking around the forum all the time. I have also run my shard before, not so successful as SH, but get some share of making technical decisions behind the curtain. So please take whatever is useful out of my opinion and disgard the rest:
I am someone who believes in "informed decision". I read everybody's reply, and in my opinion, an informed decision means a few things:
1. What is the real cause of the low activity? Is it a dip of play time, or a dip of interest? How about a poll like this:
A. I have very little time play games these days, but if I do, I spent considerable amount of it on SH.
B. I do have enough time play games these days, but I only spent a small portion on SH.
In my opinion, change the gameplay would be the solution for case B, but for A, the margin is small.
2. Going from RunUO 1.0 to 2.0, what are the possible promised game enhancements and features? Is it possible to come up with a list of potential features that people feel good to add to the shard, that can only be done in 2.0 but not 1.0 (or at least takes much more effort for 1.0 than 2.0)? For some, it may not be clear what RunUO 2.0 really brings. To trade a blob of rosy mist for something people have invested months on, I can tell why some players do not like the idea. Instead, if people understand clearly what RunUO 2.0 brings, it would make much easier and solid judgement.
3. Somewhat similar to my point #2: Nobody likes drastic change or starting anew. If a platform switch is decided because of pro overweight con, is it possible to run a test 2.0 shard at the same time as the 1.0 production shard? When a player sees for him/herself what it would be like to play on the promised better platform, it makes much easier and sound decision. And in case majority does not like the change, the shard can still stay with the 1.0 shard.
4. A question not so urgent but important anyway, if a platform switch or major gameplay change is the way to go, what would players be able to keep, or not keep? Technically, I think it might be impossible to keep the whole world save when going from 1.0 to 2.0, but is completely possible to do some kind of partial transfer like skills/stats, player's liquid asset (gold). Though game balance wise, the perspective might be completely different what to keep and what not to.
5. A specific example of my point #4, taking away sockets, is that because of balance issue, or platform switch? If there is going to be a platform switch, will the socket system be introduced back again if it is technically possible, or not at all because it is believed it is bad for game balance?
Just share my 2 cents and I am willing to offer a hand if scripting wise there is such need. SH is a great shard in so many aspects and I truely respect, even though occasionally I don't fully agree with certain features for pure game balance consideration. I truely wish the best for SH.
Rocko
Quote from: Pseudonym on December 01, 2008, 12:10:01 AM
I`we found already that using 9th anniversary UO client seems like a bad idea,
I use 9th anniversary edition w/ no problems. I have installed it on 3 computers that have all been on Sylvan and one computer a second time because of reformatting. I've never had a problem getting connected to Sylvan.
I am just getting back to semi-normal after being away for Thanksgiving holiday. Rocko, I liked your post. A lot of good things to think about there. I plan on getting a post together and will include some response to some things Rocko had to say as well as other players, trying to answer some questions in steps toward making a final decision.
If we switch to RunUO 2, it will be a TON of work to get things situated and get players moved over. It won't be a small task, and... it is NOT going to guarantee that we'll have 100 players in game.
"1. What is the real cause of the low activity? Is it a dip of play time, or a dip of interest?"
Good question... I think that is what most everyone has already been answering in so many words in this topic... but it might be a good question to ask directly too...
As far as a poll though... well, I don't trust em. It's hard to get truly accurate information from a survey/poll. You can get all kinds of information, but whether or not is it an accurate picture of how things are is another story.
For example, take this simple obvious question:
"Do you think changing to RunUo 2 would be a good thing?"
My answer would obviously be "no," but other people might say "yes." Some of the "yes" might be those who are fine either way but are are willing to change even if not strongly wanting to change... basically they'll flow either way and so answer "yes"... still some of the same people might also answer "no." It's not as clean cut and dry as one might think... there are so many factors that are hard to take into acount in a poll or survey.
or for example the two question you suggested...
I fall on both at times... sometimes I'm busy with another game trying to acomplish something that is driving me crazy in it... so I take a slight break from SH... but other times I'm not here as much due to just being very busy... and other times I'm here hours and hours. Reguardless, I generallly try to log in at least once a day even if only to say "hi" :) But... what I'm saying is... my answer to such questions would vary greatly depending on the time asked.
I honestly don't think our admins and gms would be careless in making any survey if they decided to use one, but I just don't trust surveys... they're not as easy and accurate as people like to think.
I like Acacia's idea so far, which has been to put up this post (and sounds like another to come) and put out ideas and get people's views and opinions. I believe you can get much more acurate information when you let people say all of how they feel and not limit them to certain responses to limited questions in a poll or survey. It seems Sylvan has generally done things this way (using "view gathering post"), and while I might not have always fully agreed with the out come... I think it is a good method of finding out how people really feel - thanks Acacia :)
"For some, it may not be clear what RunUO 2.0 really brings. To trade a blob of rosy mist for something people have invested months on, I can tell why some players do not like the idea."
Well, first... I'd like to change "months" to "years" to include everything that we have done and those who have gone before us have done... all the special items that show events of the past... the monuments built to honor or remember legendary members of the past... (The momument in Mag, the Vu Castle, Rithick's house, other momuments, and near countless books). Anyway... also... I get kinda a general idea of what it has... part of it being additions to the house builder tool... and while these may look neat, we already have some of them added as sought after craftables I think... and the other stuff isn't really that uber. And, despite any amount of new stuff... I'm standing firm (as I think I've already made pretty clear heh) that I care not to lose the history or balance of our shard in any way. Still, a list of "runuo2 only" things might be a neat idea... even if we never change over, we can look at what it has and see what we can do in version 1 that might be somewhat equivient to version 2.
"is it possible to run a test 2.0 shard at the same time as the 1.0 production shard?"
This sounds ok, but I'd hate to split our userbase... if we're already low on users and low on staff... it'd be like spreading us kinda thin... both players and staff alike. Like if there are already complaints about not enough staff log in time (which there should not be... but sadly there seems to be - grr) then that would likely only make it worse I'd think. And, about seeing low numbers... if the players are split... that's gonna make already low numbers look lower - at least for one version or the other if not for both.
"A question not so urgent but important anyway, if a platform switch or major gameplay change is the way to go, what would players be able to keep, or not keep?"
I could hardly care less about keeping my 120 skill levels and 150 stat levels.. or even waht little gold I have... or even my Vs collection... What I care about is keeping the current, wonderful balance and preserving our rich, hard worked for, amazing history. Which again, let me restate (because I like saying it and because I like bragging on Sylvan hehe) We proably have more history and personality shown in just one single house than other shards do in their entire worlds and even more than WoW probly does in all it's "uber" graphics system. The history a lot of games have is probably written by the programmers and designers as an overall game story and then played out by the players...every player coming to the the same end or set of endings... it means little past it's completion and offers limited replay value. Our history is diverse and creative being created, written, lived, even recorded, and I hope also treasured by the players and staff together. It is amazing what we have here in balance and in history.
"A specific example of my point #4, taking away sockets, is that because of balance issue, or platform switch? If there is going to be a platform switch, will the socket system be introduced back again if it is technically possible, or not at all because it is believed it is bad for game balance?"
Good question... but even if sockets are kept, we might maintain most of our current balance but likely still lose most of our recorded history... which is a terribly depressing thought to me.
I also greatly love Sylvan - it is indeed a wonderful shard in more ways than I probly even acknowledge. Even though I do not always agree with what happens, on major issues that I may strongly disagree with, I still generally try to find a middle ground I can stand in and a compromise I can offer... I havn't found it on this issue yet, but we'll see. I love Sylvan, and it would depress me to see it change too extremely.
"the monuments built to honor or remember legendary members of the past... (The momument in Mag, the Vu Castle, Rithick's house, other momuments, and near countless books)."
Easily recreated on another version.
I just want to reiterate Its not the Material but the People who make the History...
Acacia I am glad to help anyway I can with your scripting issues. Just let me know if you need or want it.
"Easily recreated on another version."
Perhaps *some* of it can be remade... but easily? I highly doubt it would be too easy... It took a while just to remake one place that was damaged... I'd hate to think how long it would take to replace so much more... if anyone even bothered to try. I dunno about anyone else... but I'd hate to try spending my time trying to replace what I can't replace and trying to rebuild and recreate things that should have never been destroyed.
"I just want to reiterate Its not the Material but the People who make the History..."
Ok, I'll reiterate too ;D
People live the history - the "artifacts" show and record it and retell it long after the people have gone. There is a lot to be remembered on this shard... and I don't remember it all, and I doubt you or pretty much anyone else does either. Thankfully, at the moment, we have various material things to help us remember what we might forget :) *shrugs* Maybe everyone but me has a perfect memory and goes around passing on by mouth, all of everything that has happened on Sylvan, but I doubt it ;)
you win.. it will all be terrible and we should stick with what is not working.
There are a tremenous amount of things to consider on BOTH sides of the fence... Do we NOT change and work to keep Sylvan as it is now, keep all the wonderful things that are Sylvan... all the things that players have accumulated over the years, all the rich history, and work to attract new players, and keep current players. Do we CHANGE to RunUO 2, and gain the chance for new content, yet lose all the players have accumulated, the rares, the pets, the houses, the special items... all in the hopes of gaining new players, and keeping current ones.
There really is no easy answer, and it is one that myself as well as all other Staff is thinking hard one. I get input from all of you here on the forums, when I chat to some of you on messangers, and when I listen to things I hear in game. Everyone is worried, will we... won't we. Now, today, I can't answer that. I'm still looking at the options.
All this being said, if we convert to RunUO 2, that is not going to guarantee we'll get new players or keep current ones. It's all an unknown factor. BUT... many of us are going to keep Sylvan going whether as it is, or into a new unknown lands of RunUO 2... because this is our family, and we love the shard. I value each of you players here, and I value all your opinions. Thanks for being here, reading the forums, making your comments.
Sweets. I know I can speak for myself and maybe a few others who will agree. Sylvan is home! And change or not. I am here to stay. ;D Course not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for you guys. *Chuckles* I know I work some of your nerves. *CoughThaneCoughCough*