An Update on What We Have Been Doing

[Staff]

Hey there everyone, I thought I'd pop in and give a bit of an update on what I've been working on:

UOF Launcher

For the past week, I have been working on several projects outside of the shard. The first of these is the UOF Launcher. The UOF Launcher is a centralized assist program and client launching software. It will allow us to provide on the fly updates to client files as well as install the latest version of UO, Razor, UOSteam and Sallos.

Installation is extremely easy and much of it is automated. We are trying to simplify the process of joining the shard to its most basic elements.

The launcher will be available sometime next week.

Sallos

I've been working on a version of Sallos for the shard. All features will be 100% controlled by us and easily enabled/disabled. Sallos will be launchable via the UOF Launcher. Sallos will not be available upon the launcher release. It will most likely be ready about a week after.

Poker

I've fixed the known bugs with our version of poker. I plan to launch it at the beginning of next week.

Faction PvP

• New (to us) magic weapon modifiers are going to be making an appearance:
  • Burning - Magic Arrow
  • Daemon's Breath - Fireball
  • Dragon's Breath - Fireball
  • Evil - Curse
  • Feeblemind
  • Ghoul's touch - Paralyze
  • Mage's Bane - Mana Drain
  • Spell Reflection
  • Thunder - Lightning
  • Weakness
  • Wounding - Harm
• We are also currently working on a complete new faction system. This will most likely not be ready for a month or two though.

Red vs Blue Changes

We have been very hesitant to change murder mechanics here on UOF. There is a fine line for pking on any shard. Too lenient and the PKs are rampant and drive other players away. Too harsh, and much of the modern day UO PvP dwindles.

We have taken a good look at our current statloss mechanics and they just don't seem to be working. In general, most PKs have numerous characters then PK on. They have little issue cycling through all of their pks while statloss runs out on the ones that died. As statloss can be macroed away while not logged in, the worst PKs are able to PK as much as they want while the casual PK is punished harshly.

We are debating changing the mechanics to work like this:
1) We will switch to the classic short and long term system

2) Long terms are accumulated in the overworld and in dungeons. Long terms will not contribute to statloss.

3) Short term counts are accumulated in dungeons only. Some dungeons will not give short terms (Khaldun, Orc Caves)

4) Short term counts will give perma statloss. However, statloss will only be applied if you die in a dungeon. If you have short terms and die in the overworld, you will not receive statloss.

5) Short terms cannot be macroed while logged out.

6) A short term count will decay per 8 hours.

7) you can automatically buy out of statloss by paying x amount to your killer. (maybe)

What this means: PKs can pk freely outside of dungeons (some newbie areas will give short terms). This sounds bad but what we have witnessed is that the majority of PKing occurs in dungeons. We hope that this will add increased risk to dungeon PKing but will allow reds to freely search for PvP without repercussions in the overworld.

This hasn't been finalized yet. We will put up a poll to get some feedback on the proposed changes.

Dungeon Revamps

We are currently in the process of revamping some of the dungeons. Many of the classic dungeons will now have a more consistent theme and a mini dungeon boss. More info will be given on this in the coming weeks.

• Orc dungeon and surrounding area is to become a no mount and no statloss zone.

Arcade Combat Events

Many events will soon have arcade combat modes. In these modes, both melee and archer combat will function like they did in the zombie event. We are also considering adding an area strictly devoted to arcade combat!

Server Move

We've been having some pretty bad lag lately. We've purchased a new server and will be moving sometime next week.

Ping 74.91.122.94 if you are interested in getting a general idea of what your latency will look like.

 

[Staff]

will this Wands work in Faction vs Faction fights only or can Factioneer use it against everyone ?

Faction vs Faction and in PvM.

 

[besttherewas]

Perma statloss is beyond ridiculous.

I see almost no pks anyways.

a BIG NO. 48 hours is huge for any red that actually pvps.

That proposed change would pretty much make trammel.

it's not hard to kal ort por.

 

[Staff]

Perma statloss is beyond ridiculous.

I see almost no pks anyways.

a BIG NO. 48 hours is huge for any red that actually pvps.

That proposed change would pretty much make trammel.

it's not hard to kal ort por.

you could macro the skills back in a few hours as opposed to waiting 48 hours. Another option would be 48 hours not macroable offline.

The idea is to let reds pvp as much as they want without worry outside of dungeons. You pk inside of dungeons and then die in a dungeon, you might get a bit of statloss.

 

[Hanebu]

Sounds great so far.
A question about the UOF Launcher,
does that mean there is a chance of changes in the map file, like redesign Magincia?

 

[Staff]

Sounds great so far.
A question about the UOF Launcher,
does that mean there is a chance of changes in the map file, like redesign Magincia?

Yes, the main purpose of the launcher was so that we can start adding some custom content.

 

[Jani]

This update definitely makes pking different (harder). I guess there will be more faction and O/C fighters.

 

[Hanebu]

Yes, the main purpose of the launcher was so that we can start adding some custom content.

Awesome! Also the PvP Faction changes are great!
I think now its time for me to get some PvP lessons

 

[Spikeszzz]

hi, im a noob pk and i think the thing should be the opposite, if blues adventure into dungeons they should be prepared to bossfight pks

-not going alone, etc

put guards in some dungeons jk

 

[Staff]

hi, im a noob pk and i think if blues adventure into dungeons they should be prepared to bossfight us (??)

I was thinking it was a PK buff. If we don't do this, we can always shorten the max temp statloss time but make it so it can't be macroed while you are not logged in.

Another option would be the proposed system but also an autobuy option that will allow you to purcahse your head back for something like 30k to avoid perma stat.

 

[Staff]

+1000000

no wands plz

I've removed it so we can all talk about it some more.

 

[Spikeszzz]

I was thinking it was a PK buff. If we don't do this, we can always shorten the max temp statloss time but make it so it can't be macroed while you are not logged in.

Another option would be the proposed system but also an autobuy option that will allow you to purcahse your head back for something like 30k to avoid perma stat.

ohh sorry i dont understand very well, are u saying that now, statloss time can go down without being logged in?

well i think statloss should be only logged in time, and only 1 pk per user maybe (?)

i like the autobuy head, but id rather would put some place like docks where blues could look for party to go to dungeons.. maybe in party they dont get pked so easily, dont know is just an idea... but i know theres that problem of pk driving people away from the shard... maybe you could add more monsters spawn in random areas outside dungeons...

also being a noob pk is wayy harder for me to make gold, i get killed by pks and blues too, AND statloss... maybe that thing of 1 pk per player could work, but would need lot of control

 

[Zoobler]

Arcade combat events....love it

 

[Toguro-pac]

who the fuck even thought of putting in wands?
factions only or not, doesn't matter
horrible idea

 

[Messremb]

Red vs Blue Changes

We have been very hesitant to change murder mechanics here on UOF. There is a fine line for pking on any shard. Too lenient and the PKs are rampant and drive other players away. Too harsh, and much of the modern day UO PvP dwindles.

We have taken a good look at our current statloss mechanics and they just don't seem to be working. In general, most PKs have numerous characters then PK on. They have little issue cycling through all of their pks while statloss runs out on the ones that died. As statloss can be macroed away while not logged in, the worst PKs are able to PK as much as they want while the casual PK is punished harshly.

We are debating changing the mechanics to work like this:
1) We will switch to the classic short and long term system

2) Long terms are accumulated in the overworld and in dungeons. Long terms will not contribute to statloss.

3) Short term counts are accumulated in dungeons only. Some dungeons will not give short terms (Khaldun, Orc Caves)

4) Short term counts will give perma statloss. However, statloss will only be applied if you die in a dungeon. If you have short terms and die in the overworld, you will not receive statloss.

5) Short terms cannot be macroed while logged out.

6) A short term count will decay per 8 hours.

7) you can automatically buy out of statloss by paying 30k to your killer. (maybe)

What this means: PKs can pk freely outside of dungeons (some newbie areas will give short terms). This sounds bad but what we have witnessed is that the majority of PKing occurs in dungeons. We hope that this will add increased risk to dungeon PKing but will allow reds to freely search for PvP without repercussions in the overworld.

This hasn't been finalized yet. We will put up a poll to get some feedback on the proposed changes.

As Always, Adam is Awesome.

I suggested something like the above system a while back. I think its a great idea to separate over world PVPers (Newbie areas excluded) and dungeon PKs. it helps provide consequences to those fighting PVM players while limiting consequences for those just trying to spark up PVP. I had a few ideas for consideration.

only being able to be stated in a dungeon will just lead to PKs running straight to the exit any time someone starts to fight back. I think if you have short term counts you should be able to be stated if you die (the only exception should be PVP locations like bucs, and khaldun)

Perma stat isn't a very effective punishment. if you implement it most PKs will run Dexers or heal mages that can be re-Gmed in a few hours and for less that 20k. I think temp statloss that requires you to be logged in is a better idea.

I think short term counts should reset after you have been stated. that way they can go out an PVP without fear of stat again if they haven't been PKing since they last got stated.

I also think the current bounty system will work well with the long\short term count system. just add in an option to buy your head back for double the max (50k) and you can even put a tax on it to help as a gold sink. (buying head back should not remove counts)

Anyways, keep up the great work Adam, and don't let the Trolls get you down.

 

[Cino]

Interesting concepts... from the limited amount of time I've been here, it seems the open world non-faction pvp has declined a bit and I would love to see more encouragement. However I feel like with perma stat loss in dungeons, the risk would be just too great for solo dungeon pkers and all we would see are larger groups of 3+ raiding dungeons only.

I like the idea of increasing open-world hunting spots to encourage both hunting and pking, so you can cater to both the "dungeon raiders" as well as lone wolf pks.

 

[Staff]

Interesting concepts... from the limited amount of time I've been here, it seems the open world non-faction pvp has declined a bit and I would love to see more encouragement. However I feel like with perma stat loss in dungeons, the risk would be just too great for solo dungeon pkers and all we would see are larger groups of 3+ raiding dungeons only.

I like the idea of increasing open-world hunting spots to encourage both hunting and pking, so you can cater to both the "dungeon raiders" as well as lone wolf pks.

I like to think of dungeon pking as endgame pking. Maybe you should be rolling 3 deep in dungeons if need be. We can also make it temp statloss. People seem to hate the idea of perma statloss. However, the temp statloss will actually be more of a punishment when you think about it. On UOF, you can macro skills back up in an hour or 2. With temp statloss, you can be out of the game for 2 days.

 

[girana]

On UOF, you can macro skills back up in an hour or 2. With temp statloss, you can be out of the game for 2 days.

you can also make a new PK in 5-6 hours

for me, the only real difference between temp and perma is perma force you to macro and temp let you chooise macro or waiting

 

[Doug Lambert]

Wow, you have some great ideas in there Adam. Kudos for all the work you put in, it really shows.

 

[Radar Mile]

I like to think of dungeon pking as endgame pking. Maybe you should be rolling 3 deep in dungeons if need be. We can also make it temp statloss. People seem to hate the idea of perma statloss. However, the temp statloss will actually be more of a punishment when you think about it. On UOF, you can macro skills back up in an hour or 2. With temp statloss, you can be out of the game for 2 days.

I agree 100%. But I think most reds just cycle, like you said. I have noticed more and more people buying back their heads though. Six months ago it felt like every time I went to offer a bounty the player was already offline. Now it's about 50/50

I think though that a lot of people will opt for longer stat loss with no effort (being logged out) over having to retrain skills, even if it's faster. With 3 accounts of 7 (?) characters.... You can cycle through a lot of reds before you're out of the fight for any substantial period of time, if you've built enough murderers (which most dedicated reds have)