Where Do We Go From Here?

[Admin Acacia]

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.

[Mina]

   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

[Shakka]

"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*

[Mina]

   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.

[gyver]

I came from the pay shard of Atlantic.  That is when uogateway was the thing to use. ( and still do )
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.

[Lamalas Telemnar]

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

[Morwen Aldarion]

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*

[creampuff]

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 >.<

[Teclis]

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.

[Skynar]

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

[Shakka]

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

[Mina]

    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.

[Marlenus]

   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.

[Christina]

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.

[Cpt_Starfox]

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    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!