March 2002

I was taking a stroll the other day when I realized it was time for me to go make my daily prayer to the Mother. I started trotting in the direction of the Mother, but then I heard the voices of a group of men. I stopped and tried to sneak closer to see who it was, but evidentally they heard me, because as soon as I got where I could see the Mother, there was no one to be seen.

I frowned at what laid before me. The ground all around the Mother was strewn with nightshade.

Do you like paying for free E-mail? Apparently Yahoo thinks so. The company pland to cut all POP3 access by April 24th. What is POP3 access? It allows you to access your Yahoo mail via Outlook, Eudora, or Netscape Messenger (among others). After April 24, you'll only be able to check your Yahoo mail via their specialized web interface. that is, unless you want to pay Yahoo for a service that others provide for free. So, whats a Yahoo to do? Perhaps try one of these free providers:

Yahoo's primary free mail competitor is probably MSN's Hotmail which provides free POP services to its customers using MSN Browser or Outlook. Hotmail presently offers more features in e-mail than Yahoo does.

Another free POP mail service is DS180's webmail. Several years ago, DS180 partnered with STOP Networks and ZapZone network to provide its users with Free, permanent web-based E-mail, and free POP access is included. Additionally, DS180/STOP mail has maybe a dozen users at present, so the chances of getting the you want are pretty high.

Good Luck, POPsters!

By now, most of you have noticed that Stratics has pretty much disappeared off the face of the net. The Stratics gurus have not been terribly forthcoming about what the trouble is, but they did say that it is a problem that they are waiting for their prodiver to fix. They do plan to continue their operations once the problem is solved.

Stratics IRC and Message Board services remain unaffected. The message boards were updated recently without a hitch.

Happy Easter everyone....

I just got back from a short trip to FL to visit with the folks... and while I am sure most of you have already read this trash, I thought it deserved a mention here since my article was the cause of some of this....

While I was gone branwilde from MarkeeDragon decided to put up an article saying what a terrible person I was....

You can read it here....

Let me state one more time for the record AGAIN my article about the auction house had zero, nada, zip, zilch to do with BVD and his 'relationships' with some of the women on GL. I explained that to Mandrake/Impy or whatever he is going by these days, and I explained it to anyone else that asked.

I won't pick apart her article, because quite frankly, Nieves did an excellant job of pointing out all of its faults for me.

No, she didn't have permission from me to reprint my article. No her facts are not correct. No, she never contacted me to ask me anything about it.

Funny.... I thought anyone with an ounce of journalistic integrity would at least make an effort to contact the person they are writing about.... MY BAD.

**Reader, please don't hold your breathe for me to contact her on this one... cause I really don't give a crap what she thinks at this point.

Anyway, check out Nieves response, it about sums it all up. (You will need to enter "Impy" in the search engine for the archives.... cause I'm sure branwhateverhernameis won't bother to go back and link it for you, or put it up on her own site like she did everything else.)

Laterzzz

Special thanks to Nattrim Amory for submitting the following:

Hark, and listen. For a new age in Skara Brae begins. From its ashes, like the phoenix the Skara Brae government shall rise anew, stronger than before... To arms and heed my call before Skara Brae is allowed to fall to foreign forces. The government of the House Soulstone has been weak, to weak to sustain itself against any large prolongued battle against outside forces. So to arms my fellow countrymen for the fires we bring in our wake will clense Skara Brae of the House Soulstone's weakness and unite us anew in strength of arms. To protect the people within our fair city we must do this. Skara Brae needs a more military minded government, and we as her citizens shall create that.

The revolution has begun and it is up to the House Stonesoul to decide what course of action it shall take. For Skara's Wrath has come; a body of citizens from Skara Brae who have risen together to defend thier homes. Skara Brae shall never fall to outside forces, even if it takes cleansing from within.

Begrüßungen!

Time for another Thursday Development Update! WHOOHOO! Yes, I know its Friday, but better late than never, yes? the reason for the delay is that it seems someone up and stole half the internet. Some sites I can visit, and some I cant.. I don't know what happened, but I am pretty sure that Carmen Sandiego has something to do with it. So, We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way, gumshoes!

First up, the Ultima Online Newsletter needs a new name, you can vote for it on the UO.com site, "Voice of Britannia" has a decidedly commanding lead, though.

OSI is hiring again, why you could be the next Runsabre! or the next Tyrant! Well, you probably wont because theyre only hiring for Server Programmers and Temporary QA testers, but heck, you might be able to see where they filmed Wing Commander.

This week we have a special feature on TDU, I like to call it "who pisses us off the most?" but Cynthe calls it "Who is everyone on the UO team?" I'll let you make the call:

Meet the UO Team, in 100 Words or Less

Adrick
An active player of Ultima Online since August of 1997, Adrick’s focus as a designer in Ultima Online revolves around combat systems (PvP and PvM), guilds, factions, reputation, and player interactions and reputation (non-consensual PVP).

Alai
Alai has worked on all aspects of MMORPGs at some point or another, including (but not limited to) map building, customer support, art, sound, animation, writing, design, and programming. Over the years, he has managed to claw his way up the management ladder to Lead Client Programmer for Ultima Online where he’s coordinating efforts to improve the quality of the client in all ways possible. He prefers the green M&Ms.

Augur
Augur is a designer on the Ongoing Content team, responsible for creating everything from new monster and item additions, to devious puzzles and expansions to the Britannian geography. When not delving into the codebase of Ultima Online, he enjoys daydreaming about delving into the codebase of Ultima Online. You may have also seen him in such roles as "Dirty Hippy #2" in Stop, or My Mom Will Shoot! and "Topo, the Monkey Boy", in Circus Maniacs 2.

BIGtiny
Being the manager of the UO bug exterminators, BIGtiny's job is to make sure that bugs are quickly removed from UO society. Usually under the cover of darkness and with as few witnesses as possible. BIGtiny could not be reached for comment, but a spokesman said, "We have nothing against bugs; in fact, I have an ant farm at home. But when bugs enter the world of Britannia, they cross the line and must be dealt with... severely."

BulldoZ
After bodly catapulting the old UO pixels into the third dimension and working tirelessly to help track down the cause of crashes in Third Dawn, BulldoZ finally achieved the ultimate dream of all programmers and now spends his days on an obscure research project where he has nothing to do but think, eat and drink. In his spare time, he dreams of digital organic lifeforms.

Calandryll
Calandryll, a designer at Origin Systems, holds the esteemed title of the OSI employee most often blown up, killed or otherwise maimed in fan-produced flash movies. Calandryll got his start at OSI in the Community Relations department and later moved over to development on the UO Live Team. Currently he spends his time in a dark, locked, secret room working in shrouded mystery.

Cynthe
Since 1998, Cynthe has held six different positions at OSI, including Game Designer, Community Coordinator, and Web Content Supervisor. She is now Ultima Online’s Manager of Community Services, but leaves much of the delicate community work to her fantastically capable OCR team: Kerowyn, Greywolfe and Sannio. Her greatest joys include showing off pictures of her son, and busily writing “State of the Boards” addresses that are too long for anyone to actually read.

Evocare
A long-time Ultima Online player and virtual world enthusiast, Evocare is Lead Designer for Ultima Online. His responsibilities include managing a design team in such a way that the designers retain their sanity, determining which game features the design team works on, and giving the final "yay" or "nay" to said designs. In theory, this is all done to develop the most fun path to the cheese. Over time, he has developed his skill in claiming all credit for success while passing all responsibility for failure on to the Producer (much to Tajima's surprise).

FierY iCe
FierY iCe is a Programmer on Ultima Online, and works on all kinds of systems from server maintenance to monster tweaks to combat fixes, and anything that needs to be done. Previously working as a Designer, he still tries to help them out whenever they have Programming needs. His favorite things to work on are monsters and loot. He also gets a kick out of logging cheaters.

Greyburn
When asked about the myriad of intricate and sophisticated tasks on the plate of a UO client programmer, Greyburn describes his duties and himself eloquently as, “Client. Code. Bug squishin’, party improvin’, little talkin’ mofo’ with a lead foot and a cheap rental. Er, bugs an’ clients an’ stuff. And code. It’s all about the code. Yup.”

Greywolfe
Greywolfe, UO’s Online Community Coordinator, spends a great deal of time on the MyUO Message Boards. After a busy day reading and responding to hundreds of posts and emails and attending various meetings, the ‘wolfe likes to play UO while enjoying a strong cup of Sumatra coffee, write a little horror fiction, or attend various dog-type functions with the infamous Toy Fox Terrier “Kajun-Fox Beausoleil.” Greywolfe has been known to comment that if only coffee and Beau were in the game, all would truly be well with the world.

Gromm
Gromm is a member of the Ongoing Content team and has adopted the duty of Fiction Poobah. When not trying to think of new and interesting ways of spreading waves of mass destruction across the world of Britannia that leave nothing but blood, ash and suffering in their trail, Gromm enjoys spending time with his kitten. Although he enjoys working on UO tremendously, the position is only temporary until he returns to his homeworld of Gritt'hhhya''sfvvv'''eee to continue genetically installing thumbs on other races in the galaxy.

Hanse
Hanse is a UO designer and bug fixer extraordinaire. When he’s not eradicating bugs with a vengeance, he’s busily creating new content for systems such as creature spawn locations/amounts, bulk order deeds, magic spells, map changes, decorator tools, monster enhancements, and many others. Hanse likes to stare at orange juice containers because they say 'concentrate'.

Helios
Currently, UO Designer Helios is deftly working on the New Player Experience / New Player Retention initiatives and design-side localization stuffs. Of course, he also works to keep his sanity while sharing an office with Hanse, Vex and Adrick every day, which is a job all on its own. :-)

Ignatz
Ignatz started life wandering in search of truth and love... or failing that, a job in the video game industry. One fateful day in 1997 while walking in downtown Austin, Ignatz noticed a scrap of paper stuck to one of his boots. Ripping the newsprint from his shoe, he noticed a classified ad soliciting applicants for a testing position on Ultimate Onlink... or something. Intrigued, Ignatz applied. Now, after almost five years of working on just about every facet of UO, Ignatz is a UO Live Designer and has recently landed yet another position on the Ongoing Content team.

Jalek
When not bringing in donuts for the entire team, Jalek spends his time sitting in the dark void he calls his office, shunning the sunlight and hissing at passers-by while working on mysterious and complex background programming tasks.

Kerowyn
Kerowyn is the Online Content Editor and current reigning “Miss Tackiest Office Color 2002”. When not stalking her co-workers for their Team Comments, she spends her time communicating with the fansites, arranging chats and interviews, posting web updates, and completing various other miscellaneous writing/editing tasks.

Krum
After leading the programming effort behind Lord Blackthorn’s Revenge, Krum volunteered to take a break from actual game development and courageously took on the arduous task of developing an automated testing environment for our quality assurance staff, which will provide the team the ability to release a higher quality product in less time.

MrTact
MrTact is the newest server programmer for UO, having recently moved over from QA Engineering. He is notorious for fearlessly asking EA executives pointed questions during company-wide meetings, yet still somehow retaining his job.

Oaks
As a designer for Ultima Online, Oaks works on a variety of systems ranging from world-building to spell effects, and has recently tackled things like improving the new player experience and leveling the playing field in regards to the taming profession. He is easily identifiable by his vampire-like skin and brightly-colored Hawaiian shirts; testament to his long hours of game playing and programming. His online alias, Oaks, originates from a favorite pen-and-paper RPG character best known for his non sequitur dialog and insatiable battle hunger.

Prophet
When not camouflaged as a Canadian hockey fan at the Olympics, Prophet handles the responsibilities of Lead Programmer for Ultima Online. When asked to describe a typical day at work, Prophet replied succinctly, "I do stuff. You know, press keys, bitch a lot, and deny everyone’s new feature requests. It's in my job description." His l33t programming skills can be summarized by the following anecdote heard from his peers while watching him crash a test center while trying to fix it: "If that's him trying to fix something, god help us if he actually tries to break something."

Sannio
Sannio is Ultima Online’s “Online Content Coordinator,” which is simply a more professional way of saying he’s the company’s official “Town Cryer.” As the main researcher for the OCR department, it’s his job to sort through all the myriad bits of paperwork, e-mails, scraps of notes, and back-alley conversations that relate to UO, and somehow present it to the players in such a way that the company doesn’t realize valuable gaming information is being given away for free.

Stellerex
Previously a Senior Producer for Ultima Online Live and MVP of the year for 2000 at OSI, Stellerex now works behind the scenes, ensuring a bigger and better future for UO. He is an avid player of almost every type of game, and a chess fanatic.

Stormwind
Stormwind is the Director of Technology for UO. When he's not evaluating libraries and technologies for use in UO products, he's forcing the programmers to follow coding standards and write technical design documentation. Stormwind has been around since before the public beta of UO, forcing letters and numbers to line up and stand at attention on the screen to make the servers work better. He also serves as a backup programmer as needed.

Tajima
Tajima is the Senior Producer for Ultima Online's "Live" Team. He oversees the efforts of the programmers, artists, and designers while coordinating with the Customer Service, Game Masters, Operations, Engineering, and Marketing teams. In his spare time, he enjoys playing Tech Support rep on the Discussion boards.

Usul
Being one of UO’s Lead bug exterminators, Usul’s job is to make sure our QA group is using the latest and deadliest insecticides. Many of these insecticides are potentially harmful to the environment, and sometimes downright illegal; so his duties also include keeping the EPA and left wing environmental groups off our backs. Hey, you may not like carcinogenic chemicals in your food, but at least your dinner plate won’t be garnished with a cockroach.

Vex
Vex, a designer on UO Live, started programming 8-bit home computers at age 11, and later built a map editor for Ultima IV on his Atari 800XL using a BASIC compiler. In school and for a while afterwards, he played bass (the guitar, not the fish) in an alternative rock band before eventually moving into database and Web development. Vex started playing UO with the release of T2A, and began working for Origin shortly after the release of Renaissance. In addition to systems design, he also programs, fixes bugs, and does world building and testing.

WindRider
WindRider is the senior artist on the Team. WindRider is responsible for giving life to the art, the creatures, and buttons you click on. When WindRider is not pushing pixels around for new menu screens, he is teaching the creatures how to walk, run and eat in the creature aerobics class.

From Talyesin Ap Hwne – Herald at Large

Let it be known throughout the lands, that on March 26,2002, before the Throne of Britannia, that the Nobles and Knights of the HouseStonesoul, and the Highland Guard and Highland Citizens, entered into a formal pact of alliance and mutual assistance.

The alliance calls out for other loyal and virtuous guilds to stand with them against the rise of evil.

This Thursday evening join Anduin and Mortellina as the Sandlewood staffers travel to Tales and Ales to host an exciting evening of new friends and good ale!

Gates from West Brit bank and various other cities throughout the evening... or venture on foot to find Tales and Ales. Travel southeast from the Yew, Trammel, moongate. It is the large L-shaped two story frequently packed with friendly folk.

Hope to see you there!

The Staff of the Sandlewood Box Inn

At Last glimpse we were introduced to the young Khan. An aspiring archer/mage full of awe and wonderment for this pixeled world we live in. His skills advancing through hard work and adventure. Lots of advice is obtained from those veterans willing to stop and share their experience. New friends are found creating memories. So off we go into another day in the Life of Khan:


I bank out of Vesper now, I don’t have lag issues here but I sure did at Brit. I haven’t seen a bank poser here but I’m starting to get mad at the litterbugs at Vesper Bank. To be honest I don’t mind a bag on the ground cause I’ve SEEN people drop magic items *boggle*...what gets me is people that set up 100’s of heating things or bone armor in patterns on the ground. What’s up with that?

While in Vesper, I met some guys and while talking I told them I was going to find the Oasis in the new lands (someone gave me directions and it seemed a great spot to go hunting.) The guys there said it sounded fun so we all grouped up. There are. 2 warriors, me (the ok archer and fair mage), 1 pure mage, and one tank mage.

We went to the New Lands through someone’s rune (he put it on ground and we all recalled off that) and started our way NW. On the way a gazer popped up and he was incinerated. We kept going and came across a ruin with undead…but it had lots of folks so we didn’t stay to hunt there.

Finally we get to what I think is the Oasis. We see a Cyclopean Warrior and jumped on it. I kept casting ebolts until I ran out of mana than would arm my bow. I saw his health getting low but didn’t know if I should heal him or if he could do it himself. The time it took for me to ask that question he was dead. I should have healed him and felt bad, but than saw my mana was just now at 10. I don’t think I could have gotten a heal off anyway.

We got him ressed through a scroll and kept going. We fought Wyverns and one guy said to kill them quickly because they have poison that is deadly. I didn’t think they were too hard. Than a Titan came at us! (Wow, very, very cool looking.) It gave us all fame/karma and had a magic weapon that I did not get. We were all on him, I casted my ebolts and than just used magery for heals on the party.

We did a circle around this mountain and than it happened! My greatest battle/triumph! We saw an Ophidian Knight about the same time it saw us. Our warriors charged and by the time my ebolt was in the air our two warriors were dead!! I was like, WHAT the HELL!! Our mage/tank said run and he took off so it was just me and the pure mage. The Knight targeted ME! So I kind of ran too…I just moved away from it and started plucking arrows at him. (I figured I had 150 arrows to put in him!). I put down a fire field and kept going back and forth, and casting ebolts/arrows at him…always moving. The pure mage got the other two ressed, the mage tank came back and by now he was at half-life…. We all started doing what I was…fire field and casting. (no more melee!). He went down and it was pretty awesome. The Oaf Knight was really tough, but the fight was exhilarating. My heart was in my throat as I played - it took out the two warriors so quickly I knew if it hit me I was dead too.


Our group dissipated. I met Iavona at the bank, who gave me a gift of runebooks! I have been zapping all over (“scattering a man’s molecules from one end of the galaxy to another is no way to travel!”). Iavona takes off and although late, I’m still pumped. (I was still on the Oaf high; (we started calling Ophidians Oafs)). So I try out one of my new rune books. ‘Ice’. It is right outside a dungeon and I reactive armor/night sight and enter. And die!! My first death in one week of playing…there were like 8 monsters all over the entrance and I didn’t have a chance!

I said I was stuck, ran to the bank, got some spare regs and another bank rune and zapped back there. This began what would be a 20-minute nightmare as I tried to get my stuff back. *Note to self: get hiding up NOW*. When I recovered it I had lost my regs but got everything else back.

Wed. I called in sick and really just hung out in Shame all day. (saving for a boat so I can try this infamous 8X8 thing). Nothing real special except all of a sudden I remembered someone telling me about Ogre Lords in Despise! Excited I got re-outfitted and zapped to Despise. I went down and started searching for them…but they aren’t at this first level. I found stairs going down again (very cool) and went deeper into this dungeon. I killed some trolls and moved to a lake in the middle.

I saw a few bards on the middle of the island (they kind of annoy me, though I’m not sure why). Depressed I see all the Ogre Lords are fighting each other (maybe that’s why they annoy me) and was about to leave….when one targets on me! The bards seemed to ‘let me have it’ and we began our ‘dance’. It casted no magic, so I fire fielded/arrowed it to death (a reaally…. realllllly long fight). I stopped casting ebolts cause it kept resisting them. When it finally dropped I got ‘lots of fame/karma’!!! THREE magic items, 700gold. One of the magic items was a Fortified Silver Heavy Crossbow of power!! Whooo hooo!!!!!!

When I was fighting the Ogre Lord I was so jumpy. The phone rang and the cat kept trying to grab my pizza I was about to have a stress seizure. I quickly grabbed the phone and put it down, turn volume off, dunked a sausage in my hot sauce threw it on the ground. Phone and cat problems were gone all before the Ogre Lord could reach me.

I now have 84(!!!) tactics, 80 Archery, 77.3 Magery. Eval int and Med are 60ish and 70ish...so I’m getting up there.


To be continued:

The MMORPG Documentary Film Project <---WHOAH!

Ok, so apparently this is old news... But it was new to me - so I thought it might be new to some of you as well.

They played D&D, they play UO, they like films, they produce, write, and mix sound just to name a few of their talents... Now they want the world to understand MMORPGs.

"The film project took shape in the summer of 2000, over a series of lunchtime conversation about multi-user dungeons and virtual communities. I was trying to convey something of my on-line experiences in Ultima Online and other virtual worlds to friends in the S&TS department. They found it incredible that people would spend 20-30 or more hours per week living an alternate life in a medieval fantasy world. "What do people find so compelling about these virtual worlds," they wondered. As a budding academic, I considered writing a book to answer this question. Park Doing, a fellow graduate student and film enthusiast, convinced me that the subject matter really needs a visual treatment."

The MMORPG Documentary Film Project

Laterzzz
~Nols

I was walking around Caelum Mortuus today after stopping by the Sandlewood Box when I noticed a note on the steps of Raistlin's house. It intrigued me, so I traveled to the house of Boromir, where I found the same note, except addressed differently.

See for yourself...

Greetings!!

I would like to announce the Royal Oaks Masked Ball, to be hosted by Ludwig Van Foltz of RKB and Jessy Fast of The Order.

The Ball will take place at the Royal Oaks Tavern, located in the Newcastle peninsula, Friday, April 5th at 9pm by the eastern skies.

Please come dressed in your finest! And most importantly, wear a mask! How will you know who's behind the mask?? (aside from the name above the player). Get to know them and find out! This is a perfect opportunity for the finer citizens of Britannia to get together and meet a new face...somewhere behind that mask :) All of Britannia are welcome to attend. Free food and drinks all night!


For directions to Royal Oaks Tavern, visit www.qflag.com/rkb/newcastle.html or contact either Jessy Fast or Ludwig Van Foltz.

See you there!

Ludwig Van Foltz, Saint Commander (RKB)
27176393

From Noel LeFevre - UOSS

Due to scheduling conflicts, the premiere meeting of the Britannian Benevolence Commission (BBC) has been changed from Monday, March 25, to Wednesday, March 27, at 7 pm CST/ 8 pm EST. The group will assemble at the Restful Slumber Inn in Nujel’m, Trammel. Gates will be provided to the island from the banks in Skara Brae and Yew, Trammel, thirty minutes before the meeting begins.

The agenda for the initial meeting is to set the cornerstone for a diverse group of craftsmen and adventurers who will network together to assist the downtrodden and needy citizens of our realm. The goal of the BBC is not merely to hand out goods to young citizens, but to assist them in learning valuable tools of survival and to teach them how to help themselves. Interested parties may volunteer their services to act as mentors for the young or those who have recently returned to our lands and find themselves bewildered by a world that has changed greatly since they last set foot on Britannian soil. We find that there is a particular need for guilds who are willing to take some of these foundlings under their wings.

We've all talked about it. Some of us have done it once or twice. Some of us do it all the time.

Everyone's time has a price, and they say everyone can be bought. If you wait long enough someone will sell what you are looking for, and if you are quick enough, you can pick it up at a decent price.... or if you are selling, you can shop your virtual item around to the highest bidder until you get the price you really want.

Someone told me last night, the time to sell is now. I disagree with that statement. I still believe in Felucca. I believe in the players that remain there. I believe in living my virtual life with the risks that come with Felucca, in return for the reward of a playstyle I enjoy.

UO, EQ, AC, DAoC and soon, PE. All the games deal with it to some extent or another... Go read the latest http://apnews.excite.com/article/20020325/D7IF6JNG1.html

Then come tell me... what's your price?

Laterzzz

Tonight I spent a little time with Nieves (who if you read our boards.... you already know, is my daddy). *smirks*

We went behind the powergamer a bit, to see what its like on the other side.... to meet the man behind the website, the player behind the characters (some are secret!) and to talk about what we all love ... UO.

Step inside and read the sordid details

Laterzzz
~Nols

"The drow in question is a victim of an especially ingenious drow deity. His
name is Vhaerhaun. He tricked the dark elf, by deceiving her with false
notions that he was a god of mercy and change. This drow had balance written
on the very fiber of her soul, General. But when the world around you is
'kill or be killed', you must survive in any manner you can. And she shows
herself to be above the morals of her kin, by even feeling guilty enough to
have been allowed access to the Temple for atonement."

The Speaker fell silent a moment and looked into the morning sun, drinking
in the azure ocean that bordered it. Then, he turned back to his story.

"This female came to us, because there are very few in this world who can
reverse the trick which Vhaerhaun has played upon her. Now, now... General,
I know what you're thinking. And I can assure you; I am a fine judge of
character. I didn't get to this position by being naïve. She was honest in
her search for atonement, and her search to heal. Vhaerhaun split her soul
in two to torture her. Half of her soul is personified in one body, the
physical manifestation of her sins. The other half wanders the world as her
innocence. It wouldn't take long to deduce that the being in this temple is
her innocence."

Ciril was dumbfounded.

"She sits in the Temple even now, Speaker? A drow female, here?"

The Speaker nodded slowly...

[Want to read more? Want to know what this is about!?! In honor of the
founding of Tel'Aure a quest is about to embark to save a soul. Find more
of the story at http://www.ori.net/nicodreus/docs/firstsight.html and help
support the founding of the elven Nation of Tel'Aure!]

As days, weeks, and even years rush by in our little pixeled world of UO, We all at one point or another get that “feeling”. You know the feeling. The one that washes over you as that *insert monster/enemy here*, falls yet again at your feet in another horrifying death, “been there, done that, what now?” kind of feeling. We have accumulated our homes, our rares and our riches. We have fought epic battles never to be forgotten, made countless friends and even a few enemies. We have tried all the available skills, wondered to all corners of our pixelated world and back again.

Here we stand, still faced with that burning question......So what now? This question we all have to answer for ourselves. However, every once in a while all it takes to get a new outlook on things, is to look at the world through someone else's eyes.

So, how about a stroll down memory lane...... A glimpse back to the wide-eyed innocence, the wonderment of days gone by, a walk in the shoes of a new player by the name of Khan.

An introduction:
My friends and I came from Everquest and than Dark Age of Camelot. When those two games lost their luster we kind of fell apart. Some are still in Everquest, some in DAoC, some came to try out Ultima Online with me. It started as a chance to play something until Star Wars Galaxies, or Neverwinter Nights came out - but I’ve really become hooked more so than I thought. Well, it IS addicting. My wife...oh how she loathes my cpu!

Coming from EQ and DAoC the interface and commands for UO I thought I would be ok, but the learning curve for this game is pretty high! Thankfully both EQ and DAoC have a Stratics.. So I went there first for info on the game. From there I discovered UO Powergamers.

As this is introductory I’d just want to add that my friends laugh at my excitement. I love Great Lakes and the people there. If I could say but ONE thing to a person buying UO off the shelves it would be to go to www.uopowergamers.com before even installing. If I could say one thing to the makers of this game I would say thank you..ok, well I’d say thank you and free up some room for new guys to get homes too!!


Life Begins:
I started in Vesper after the trial of going through Haven. I was told to start here as it is a good city near mountains, water, and the bank is near a reg shop. All this is greek to me of course. To be honest, my first thoughts are of frustration . I don’t know how to do anything and when I finally just wanted to kill something I found that farm animals are pretty strong!
I find myself with tons of questions:
HOW do I make money?? (I’m killing pigs and 'harts' are killing me...neither have any gold! Regants so damn expensive!)
What is a 'bank poser' ? and why do people here hate them?
Does it matter if a shaft comes from an oak tree or not?
Do feathers from an eagle make a better arrow than one from a harpy?
With these thoughts going through my head, I wander the countryside ...and when I see a reg on the ground I’m pretty happy and try to hurry in case another person picks it up...but if its a silk I sometimes avoid it. I thought trying to pick up an arrow from the ground was painful, than I saw a spider silk..OMG! The Gods truly were laughing at me as I tried to put that in my bag.

I found a place called 'Nikky's' last night! OMG you should SEE it. There is a vendor full of stuff on every tile facing out. I spent a good 15 minutes just rifling through the stuff.
Sad part is I’m trying to find a horde of earthquake scrolls (to have on a new boat, I thought I’d call it 'Botany Bay'. heh.)

REALLY sad part is I went looking for vendors and I got SUCKED into the miasma of shopping. I must be a chick. I ended up with a new bow, a runebook with 6 charges (which I don’t understand as I just cast from the page but ). Some people have really cool houses out there. I try not to use night site because if they have torches going it really looks cool.

I’m happy to say I haven’t run when I have seen a person turn into a demon, but I did call my wife (who groaned) when I saw a guy turn into a chicken! I made him do that again for my amusement and my wife’s chagrin..


To be continued:

From Jakob Covenant

The Highland Guard is pleased to host a night at the Tales and Ales Tavern on Sunday, March 24, 2002. We will be serving all the ale, scotch, bread and stew that you can handle. Come and enjoy tall tales and camaraderie. We will also be running an Easter Egg Hunt event. First prize will be 20K, second 10K, and 3rd 5K. Activities start at 7:00 PM Central.

To find Tales and Ales, travel southeast from the Yew, Trammel, moongate. It is the large L-shaped two story frequently packed with friendly folk.

From Gem of the Fishing Council of Britannia:

Can ye look like a pirate? Or maybe a poor patient fisher? Monday
night be yer chance to win a prize for your appearance.

The Fishing Council of Britannia (FCB) will be holding a costume contest at the Tales and Ales Tavern, a few steps from the Trammel Yew moongate. First prize for the best nautical costume will be a large painting. Many other prizes and give-aways! Tales and Ales is staffed nightly from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The contest is Monday March 25th (FCB night) at 8:00 p.m. CST (9:00 EST).

There's a rune to Tales and Ales on the floor of the FCB tower.
http://uo.stratics.com/shard/Great%2BLakes/gl_fcb.shtml

Werd G!

Its time for another hip-hopping edition of the TDU with DJ NickyNickyNicky!

Yeah, so enough of that already, lets get to the updates!

Do you like Quicktime? Do you like downloading 13 megabyte Quicktime movies? Well, OSI made a movie for LBR, which you can check out here: http://www.uolbr.com/video.html Although as a warning, I should tell you that the video dosent actually contain any actual game footage whatsoever. Calandryll has a little speil about why the movie is so cool:

It was important that this movie reflect Lord Blackthorn's evil intentions, but at the same time, show that not everything in the world is either all evil or all good, there is still a great deal of mystery to unravel. There are still many good citizens in Britannia. And, many who see Lord Blackthorn for the half human, all evil tyrant that he now is and are willing to go to any lengths to bring this madman's vengeful seige to a halt. The question is what will happen, who will ultimately triumph in this battle of good versus evil? And, even those writing the fiction don't know at this point!

The ending scene is what "Lord Blackthorn's Revenge" is all about - the "Dawn" of hope. The final scene shows the new heroine, Dawn, fighting side by side with you and the people of Britannia. She stands as a leader, born of necessity, vigilant and defiant, ready to repel Blackthorn's attack and return control of a once peaceful land back to its people. "Dawn" has no ulterior motives, in that she represents the true Virtuous soul, a model to other citizens of the path of Virtue which is open to any who chose it. The fate of Britannia is far from sealed, and only through the actions of you, the player, can the world be safe once again.

From Drake Aldaron via Stratics:

Greetings to all of Sosaria's residents!!

Once again, the Conclave of Shadows will be staffing the beautiful Tales & Ales Tavern located at the Trammel Yew Moongate on Friday night. Many of you have come to enjoy the company, food, and fine beverages of the merry place. As always, we open the doors at 7pm under the central skies and the kegs flow as abundantly as the great rivers themselves.

But wait! Tomorrow night, the Conclave is proud to offer an in-house auction for those in attendance! Our members have accumulated a variety of fine wares to submit to bidding. Some of the items include packages of fantastic magical swords, pieces of daemon bone armor, wonderful rares, and more! The auction will begin promptly at 8pm and will end as soon as all the items have been sold. Payment will be expected immediately after you've won an auction.

So bring your wallet and your mug, and come join us all for the fun and excitement at the Tales & Ales Tavern!

From Noel LeFevre - UOSS:

Please join us Monday, March 25, at 7 pm CST/8 pm EST for the first meeting of the Britannian Benevolence Commission (BBC). The meeting will be held at the Restful Slumber Inn in the official Stratics event town, Nujel’m, Trammel.

The purpose of the BBC is to provide food, clothing and services to the less fortunate, be they poor in material goods or poor in spirit. All guilds and private citizens are welcome to participate. This is not a town council or a city government. It is to be a non-profit, non-political organization for ordinary folk who wish to help others.

Events which will be sponsored by the BBC will include sewing circles (to fashion clothing and leather armor for the impoverished,) bake offs (to cook food for distribution to the hungry,) and socials where Britannians can come together to meet and mingle. We also hope to establish a mentor program through which newer citizens can be matched with an adviser who can guide them through the sometimes confusing, sometimes perilous, day-to-day life in our realm, honing craft or adventuring skills.

For more information, please contact us. We look forward to seeing you Monday night and doing great things together for the benefit of our fellow citizens.

A reminder:

....So break out your favorite bell, bring some kindling, dress in your favorite Ostara colors (The most common colors associated with Ostara are lemon yellow, pale green and pale pink. Other appropriate colors include grass green, all pastels, Robin's egg blue, violet, and white.) . . .and come celebrate at the Sandlewood Box Inn and Tavern, Thursday, March 21st at 8pm under the eastern skies. Plenty of ale, cider, good food and lots of memories to be made, all at the Sandlewood.

From Noel LeFevre - UOSS:

If you need resuscitation, you go to a healer. If you need your favorite katana repaired, you go to a blacksmith. If you’re the manager for Great Lakes Stratics and you need your establishments section updated, you go to Kyra.

That’s right! We have enticed Kyra into joining our staff here for the express purpose of breathing new life into our dusty ol’ establishments section. We have heard your pleas and have found who we consider to be the most qualified person for the job.

Many of you may know Kyra as the Homes Tour coordinator. Each month, she selects some of the finest homes and establishments in Britannia and places runes to them in books available for purchase at many fine vendor shops. The tours have gained tremendous popularity as news of them travels from happy tourist to happy tourist. Having been in the homes tour for so long now, we trust that her knowledge of Great Lakes, it’s lands and peoples, in unparalleled.

Joining her as part of our two-person review team is Rikus of The Trinsic Virtue Guards. (http://www.trinsicguards.com/) Rikus will be accompanying Kyra as she visits various venues to offer a man’s opinion to the reviews.

Please join us in welcoming them to the Stratics family. Their first review, The Fishing Council of Britannia tower (http://uo.stratics.com/shard/Great+Lakes/gl_fcb.shtml), is up and available for your perusal. Look for more establishments to be added frequently.

If you are the owner of a home, shop or guild hall of which you are especially proud, feel free to invite Kyra and Rikus for a visit. You may reach them at: uogreatlakes@stratics.com. Be sure to include “Establishment invitation” in your subject line. For security purposes, no attachments, please. When writing, remember to include information on how to contact you, the coordinates of your establishment, and the facet.

From Lydia Bright - UOSS:

Have you ever had that feeling where you just do not fit in? I know that feeling quite well. To solve it, though, I went about it all the wrong way. I jumped from guild to guild trying to find my place in the world and became labeled as a "guild hopper."

This is why I have decided to put together an event for guilds. Not just roleplaying guilds, or dewd guilds, or pvp guilds, but all guilds. I bless my creation..."A Gathering of Guilds!"

Currently, I am taking submissions of guilds that would like to show other players what their guild is all about, to reach a larger crowd of folks like themselves.

If your guild would like to be a part of The Gathering, please send your submission to uogreatlakes@stratics.com with the subject line "The Gathering."

Please include the following in your message:

Guildmaster/mistress's Name
Guild name and Abbreviation
How to contact the guildmaster/mistress
A short description of the guild (Include whether what type of guild, such as, roleplaying guild, pvp guild, faction guild ect.)

The time, date and location are still to be determined, but will be put up a few days before the event.

I hope to see young and old, guilded and non guilded alike!

From Steve via Stratics:

Greetings, GL'ers!

It is I, Oscar Shadowfoot, wishing again to relay some news to you fine people.

The Southern Brittanian Fight Club Association is currently organizing tournaments to be held Friday and Saturday nights, starting on the 22nd of March. The night of the 16th we held a test tournament, which drew several great fighters and mages from all over the land. The winner was HazE, who took home 290,000 gold.

The entrance fee is 15,000 gold, and the winner will take 65% of the total pot. HOWEVER, for the first few weeks, the winner will be awarded the FULL pot, plus a 200,000 gold donation from us.

For more information on location, rules, and other miscellanous things, visit www.fightclub.freehosting.net , or email me at s_yorkusmc@hotmail.com. Please refer to site before mailing me.

An exciting development in the world of news, Stratics GL and the Daily Herald have teamed up to give you the absolute best coverage possible! As always, Stratics is able to use our stories for their site, and now we are able to use their stories for ours. With this strategic alliance, we should be able to give you better coverage than ever before!

Look for the new Stratics icon, which denotes news from our friends over at Stratics!

Gathered in the quiet beauty of the forest, whispers of the waterfall nearby, the Sisters of Enchantment prepared to practice the ritual in celebration of *Ostara.

Ancient Enchantress, Karinya, gave final instructions. Lit torches were placed, marking north, south, east and west, within the circle of the gathered witches. Soon Karinya began the ritual chants. In turn Air, Fire, Water and Earth were called forth. Praise given to Mother Goddess and Father God for the bounties all around us.

Just witnessing this practice, I have to say this is something not to be missed. The actual ritual is to be performed :

Saturday evening March 23, 2002 at 8pm CST the Circle of Life Columns (Trammel)

gates will be provided starting 15 minutes before the event from the Trinsic and Britian (trammel) moongates.


There well be food and drinks for all following the Ritual. Hope to see everyone there to welcome Spring.

* “Ostara marks spring's return; the fertility of animals, crops and humans; the balance of darkness and light, and the energies in Nature; and the astrological passage from Pisces to Aries. It is the time when the Daughter Kore returns from the Land of the Dead, and becomes reunited with Mother Demeter: thus it stands for the bond between mother and daughter and their perpetuation of life.”

From Cade:

Bowen had traveled down this road many times, but today it seemed different. As he walked a cool breeze brushed his cloak. The forest seemed strangely quiet today. As he rounded another corner he felt a prickly sensation on his neck and back. He felt as though someone was watching. He began to walk faster but the edge of the forest was not in sight! The trees became closer together as though he was going deeper into the woods. Footsteps began to sound upon the dirt road. Bowen looked behind to find a dark clothed person following him closely. He began to run keeping an eye on his stalker. Just when Bowen though there had been enough distance between them he turned and ran full speed. It was like hitting an invisable wall! There in front of him stood the dark figure. A shiny blue wall rippled then disappeared in front of him. The man was dressed in dark clothing with a glowing crown upon his head. As he stepped out of the shadow of a tree Bowen noticed his pale skin and glowing purple eyes. Suddenly he felt the intrusion of his mind! His own thoughts began to pour out and be taken by the man! Just when Bowen was about to collapse, a beautiful rose popped into his mind followed by other friendly pictures. As they faded away Bowen found that he was lying under a tree. He stood up to brush leaves and small branches from his pants. On the ground where had sat lay a small book. Upon lifting the book Bowen felt tingling in his fingertips. The cover was completely blank. Further inspection of the inside Bowen read the title. "The Dow Bible"

It's a Whole New World!


When this 'service' rolls out next year, players will be able to log on to Linden World and do anything they like - from building a home to creating a tattoo parlor to designing their own version of Quake.

Invading the turf of UO, AC and EQ wouldn't be easy for anyone, but the creators of Linden World are aiming to capture everyone that doesn't fall into the 'hard-core gamer' category with their open-ended world.

Linden World's environment offers weather, realistic lighting effects, plants, animals and other objects, all of which obey the law of physics...

Sign up for the 'Alpha' testing program dubbed "Early Creator Program" here. The PC requirements are not out of the norm for new games coming up - but you do need broadband for this one. The streaming video just won't fly on dial-up.

Laterzzz

From Rath Stonesoul on behalf of the Brotherhood of Sleep:

Dramaticilly the wind shifted pitch as the slim half-elf left the road and made way into the forest just east of the city. It would be night soon, and the wolves that roamed the forest would be out soon in search of their evening snack, when all had left the den would the boy elf head inside. In past recent past nights, had the boy heard howls echoe upon the wind just down the waters from the cave. Not the normal howls of the wolve’s den’s inhabitant…howls of a different sort, which sent chills throughout his body, numbing every inch of his being. Tonight, he would solve his mystery, mayhaps he shall even discover some being he might vanquish and make a name for himself…tonight, he shall see.

Wind whipped the tiny branches of each tree into his face, cutting his face in tiny bites. His dagger barely hacked through the sudden brush that seemed to wrap itself about him. It seemed the forest shifted completely from the thicket he once knew, as these darkened trees seemed to reach at him. The night itslef seemed to cling onto the young boy, as if to suck him forever into the brush, to hold him down and never let him go. The mere thought made his dagger that much more swift, tearing straight through the underbrush that grew before him. T’was fear, is all. All in his head. The night’s moon be getting to me….

With that, he felt himself fall. He did not fall down, nor did he fell up. His body froze, and he simply fell into nothingness, a void of infinite blackness that held him held in that moment that seemed forever. Infinite nothing…

He awoke as the sun lit the morning sky. Bird’s sang about him and a gentle brook could be heard just over the nearby hill. Before him was a small house he rockognized as home, yet could not remember. He understood very well that this place was where he had come from, yet the memories of his life would not come to him. He could not remember the crooked door upon the one room building. Nor could he remember the flowers that grew just inside an open window. None of this was familiar at all…

The door opened immediately and the slim figure of a pale man stood just within the doorframe. He grabbed the boy’s shirt and quickly dragged him inside, throwing him onto a wooden chair that sat in the very center of the house. Without speaking, the boy could hear the man’s hissing voiuce inside his head.
“We’ve been expecting you. You’re home now. Worry not where home lie.”

The footsteps of another man behind him brought a bit of realization into the boy. He suddenly took in his surroundings, a bare room with nothing but a bookcase and four chairs. Behind him stood a tall figure, cloaked in dark green, covering all of his body except the slight bit of pale white flesh that shown through the hood. In front of him was the figure who opened the door. A slim man dressed in what seemed to be a tribal garb, of the similar green as the other man’s cloak, and of a dark blue that seemed darker than black. Both of the men’s eyes pierced through the boy, as if invading every bit of him, corrupting every piece of his body.

Again, he heard the voice, yet neither men moved their lips.

“Your life has been served, and your purpose has been granted unto thee. Your past life was meaningless. Nothing within it has served purpose, your power has been stagnate. The time for your being to be tapped has come. Your vitae joins us as your soul departs this realm.”

Panic swept the boy, and he darted to reach the door, yet he did not move. He told his body to go, but it would not. That same numbness returned to him, and returned the memories of evil bearing down upon him. The room fell away once more as if a flood of memory returned to him. Blood everywhere. He saw his mother, lying on the floor, he saw his father’s dead carcass strewn upon the lawn. His younger siblings were mutilated, all of their blood trickling from his hands as he kneeled before his make shift shrine. His own blood mixed with his killings as the wreath of barbs that bound his hands gud into his flesh. Praying unto the alter, he saw himself drink of a goblet laid before him, he saw the other two men who were around him standing just behind him. He saw every bit of life he once knew gone, and he through himself into the damnation. In a blinded fury, he wripped forward, shoving both men away, and plunged his own hands into his chest, grabbing and squeezing his own heart until it popped., bursting blood upon the floor, his lifeless body slumped against the wall.

Both men grinned, as they gathered the body and dragged it from the small house….

Upon one of the altar rest the dead body of a young half elf boy. His clothing was untouched since his demise, the blood stained tunic that he himself ripped through still hanging barely over the hole in his chest. Upon the other lay the form of Reinholder, unmoving, seemingly lifeless. The dim torches did little to lighten this dark ceremony. The hisses and moaning of the horde rose as the cloaked form of Son Goku made his way down the aisle to the two alters resting side my side.
First, he moved his hand over the form of Reinholder, sliding his hand just over the body as a dark blue light began to emit from this corpse.

Chanting began to echoe throughout the chamber from an unkown source as the torches began to flicker to an unkown wind. Reinholder spasmed suddenly as the blue light shot through his body and broke into the room, emitting a blinding flash of light that enveloped Goku and the alters, and left Reinholder’s body burning uncontrollably. The light seemed to become trapped within goku’s fist, as he moved it onto the corpse of the half elf boy.

Resting his hand over the boy’s wound, the chanting grew louder as the flash returned, bursting every inch of the room in light for a brief second, only to disappear as suddenly as it came, the elf boy’s corpse burning as well. With a swiift motion, the figure of the elf boy stood. The flames that covered him immediately dispersed, leaving his flesh charred black. As he moved, the charred flesh fell from his body, and he brushed away the rest, leaving behind a slim pale form that was quickly garbed in Reinholder’s old clothing. He held his hand before Reinholder’s burning mass and ceased the flames abruptly. He turned toward the horde, grinning malevolenty.

His words rung through the halls. “HIS POWER- IS MY POWER. MY POWER- IS ABADDON’S POWER. DEATH- TO THOSE WHO OPPOSE HIS TIDING”.

And with that, the new Dark Minister began his reing beside Son Goku

The ongoing war against load times continues. Those of you on broadband connections seem content with the Herald's load time, which averages 7 seconds across cable connections, but can get upwards of 20 seconds on a dialup connection.

Fret not, bandwith-challenged brothers and sisters, I have a solution for you: The Daily Herald: Light Edition!

Part of what causes those long load times is the Herald's extra features. Features like the Herald Poll, the Banner exchange, the Upcoming Events calendar, FYI at UO.com and the Headlines.

The Herald's new Light Edition is bare bones news. No extra features, and a fast load time. The Light Edition is for anyone on a dialup, or who wants "just the facts ma'am"!

If you like the new Light Edition, Let us know on the message board! we're here to serve you, so let us know what you want to see. This particular edition was created at the suggestion of a reader like yourself!

Fine ladies and gentlemen of Britannia, and rogues as well!

The fine proprietor of Kazola's Tavern has agreed to allow me to hold a small event in conjunction with the Happy Hour of March 20th. This event is the Great Britannian Meat Out! Basically, I'll be promoting the idea that eating meat is a grand idea for dragons, but not so for humans, orcs, and others of the civilized races.

I've arranged with Kazola to provide food for the evening, food that will not involve the sacrifice of animals or fish. Also, I shall be providing cookbooks with exotic ingredients for the cooks amongst us. In addition, if provoked into doing so, I shall share my views on living a life without harming animals... and the appropriateness of beginning anew so close to the Vernal Equinox.

Blessed be!
-- the druid Desdemona

From Cade Elder Dow:

Fellow inhabitants of Sosaria! After many years of solitude I and a few of my people have come out of our hidden sanctuaries. Me and my people are called the Dow. We are a race of ancient people that went into hideing after human's emerged for a second time. Fearing that Zog would come again to destroy the world we Dow went into our underground Sanctuaries, and from their we lived for many years. Now we are emerging! Time has taken many of my people and we need help to establish ourselves among the Sosarian Society. Since our Sanctuaries are widely spread over the world many Dow are lost. If you wish to reunite yourself with your fellow Dow in the struggle for world recognition send a carrier pigeon to 59386507 or find your way to The Highland Guard, a Dow sypathizer. Also if humans should see a Dow please direct them to me Cade the Dow Elder, or to a Dow sypathizing group. Recgognize a Dow by their abnormally colored hair and totally white skin. Please help a dying race!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Lord Stonesoul, Lord of Skara Brae and House Stonesoul, has called the people of Skara Brae and the surrounding regions to the next city meeting. He will address the issue of Jasmine being Basil's daughter.

The meeting will be Tuesday at 7:30 CST!

There will be an iquisition, and please, if you have question ye want asked to Jasmine, pigeon them to Lord Stonesoul at 153742652. From his questions and yours, he will determine whether or not Jasmine is evil like her father. If Jasmine is found guilty, she will be cast out of the city!

Come and have your questions asked! Find out what you want to know about this secretive woman!

Hope to see you at the meeting!

Fishing Council of Britannia night at the Tales and Ales Tavern will be merrier than ever this week. On Monday, Mystra, Fizban, and other FCB crew will be on hand with fun and prizes. This week, an S.O.S. bottle will be awarded for the best "fish story." Second prize will win a fish net. FCB is on hand from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. CST. The contest will be held at 8:00 p.m. CST. The tavern is a few steps from the Yew moongate (Trammel). A rune is available at the FCB tower. (http://www.thefcb.com/greatlakes/tower.html)

Everything has been going smoothly, been having fun. Only problem is I have been extremely busy in real life, going out with friends and studying for mid terms. So.. we will skip a few Days, because on some of them I didn't even log on.

Day 5:

I log on late that evening after having just finished playing poker with some friends. Had about $5 extra dollars in my pockets, so I ordered some food and sat down. ToM told me I had missed out on going to Kazola's, but I was determined to have some fun. I logged on Ramirez and went to the tavern. I tried to act like someone new to the teachings of Mondain, but they were more interested in talking about when I had been Arch-Mage of the Empire of Armageddon, so I entertained them on that subject.

After about 30 minutes, I decided it was time to hit the sack, so I went to bed. Had a good time trying to tell them what I had learned about Mondain.


Day 12:

Spent alot of days just talking in chat with ToM since I was doing alot with my friends and had been studying for midterms.

I logged on and gave Iris a suprise, gave her the house next to my keep and she was genuinely happy. I hope she enjoys it, I was going to give it to her, but the fact Andrew logged on that day to give me the keep expedited the process.

I think people in #dom were in total shock, so I called it a night and went out with friends.


Day 13:

Mordain calls everyone to the Temple, seems we are going out to have some fun. We first gate to Buc's Den to cleanse it of the infidels.

It was horrible, for me at least. I was getting 25-40% packet loss because the geeks down at the UT Network Center had screwed up the ethernet trying to upgrade it. I struggled to keep up with the ToM, managed to catch the glimpse of a corpse. Someone had made the foolish mistake of stealing from one of us.

I managed to follow them to Yew. We sat in on the H
Finally we head to Skara Brae, we look around, no one is there. ToM starts to cast fire fields everywhere, making the lag even worse. By now I have had enough with the freaking packet loss. Told them I was going to go finish homework and logged off.

Flight also gave me an assignment to work on. Told me I needed to write a biography for Ramirez, which I am doing in my free time. I'll post it when I get back from the Bahamas.

Day 14:

Doing my update of my journey's with ToM. Probably today will be the most I have spent on UO in a very long time. I can't go out and get trashed tonight because tommorow I have to drive 12 hours to Ft. Lauderdale (where our boat to the Bahamas is leaving from). I am looking forward to the trip and hope to have alot of fun.

Anyone want a post card?

Har Har

HOW Kemosabe!

Welcome to another jam-packed edition of the TDU, where we fill you in on all the development poop from the last 7 days! This week, theres a lot of stuff to cover, so lets get to it!

Tailoring BoD's anyone?

The basic concept of the bulk order system is that players who interact with
certain crafting-based NPC shopkeepers will, on random occasions, be offered
the opportunity to fulfill "bulk order deeds" (also known as "BODs").
In return for completing these BODs, the player will receive special rewards
as compensation.

A Blacksmithing BOD system is already in place, and the concept will now be
expanded to also include a Tailoring BOD system as well.

Tailoring Bulk Order Deeds

Characters that have a sufficient Tailoring skill and frequently selling goods
with NPC Tailor & Weaver shopkeepers will have a chance to receive BOD requests
from them.

• Characters with Tailoring skill of less than 70 will only be given BODs
  for items that would give the character the opportunity to gain in skill.


• Characters with 70 or higher Tailoring skill may receive BOD requests for
  any of the items that are craftable by players' Tailor characters.

Frequency: There will be a random chance that a Tailoring BOD will be
offered to the player upon each trade a player's character makes with an NPC
Tailor or Weaver.

Difficulty: The level of the character's Tailoring skill will affect
the level and complexity of any BOD offered to that character; as the character's
Tailoring ability increases, so may the difficulty of the Tailoring BODs increase.

There are also two levels of BODs: Small BODS (or "SBODs") and Large
BODs (or "LBODs").

• SBODs are the basic level of BODs, and may be offered to the player at any
  point in his or her tailoring career.
  
  
  
  • The difficulty of SBODs will be lightly challenging, scaling up or down
    based on the level of the player's character's Tailoring skill.
  
  
  
  


• LBODs will be more difficult than SBODs, and will only be offered to characters
  with higher than 70 Tailoring skill.
  
  
  
  • The difficulty of LBODs will be highly challenging, scaling up or down
    based on the level of the player's character's Tailoring skill.
  
  
  • Several SBODs may be required to be combined with an LBOD in order to
    fill an LBOD request.
  
  
  
  

Use: The Tailoring BOD will appear as a grey deed within the character's
backpack, labeled "a bulk order deed."

• Double-clicking the deed will display a gump-window which will list the
  desired item(s), amount, if the item needs to be acceptable, and of what sort
  of material must be used.


• To complete an order, the player can use the "combine" button
  on the deed's gump to combine the crafted items with the deed until the amount
  of items the deed requests has been reached.


• The items and deeds must be within the character's backpack for the combination
  to work.


• Once the correct amount of items have been created and combined with the
  deed, the deed can then be dropped on the appropriate NPC for a reward.

Example of a Bulk Order Deed Gump-window

Example of a Large Bulk Order Deed Gump-window

Collecting the reward: Players may redeem the BOD by dropping it onto
the correct NPC shopkeeper.

• The reward will appear automatically in the character's backpack.


• The reward will be a certain amount of gold, a special item, and an increase
  in the character's Fame - the level of each will be based on the difficulty
  of the BOD.
  
  
  
  • If the amount of the gold reward is equal to or higher than 5000 gold
    pieces, then the player shall receive the gold in the form of a check.
  
  
  • The special item will be one that is not currently available in the
    game outside of the BOD system.
  
  
  • The rewards are not listed here, in order to allow Tailors to discover
    the type and nature of these rewards for themselves.
  
  
  
  

Example of the special cloth color that will be low to medium rewards

Example #1: The easiest Tailoring BOD to complete would be an order
for 10 skullcaps, of normal quality, each made of cloth.

The player will combine each skullcap as it is completed with the SBOD, and
when all the required skullcaps are combined into the SBOD the player will drop
the SBOD onto an NPC Tailor or Weaver in order to receive their reward.

The reward would be a moderate amount of gold (in the character's backpack),
one special item (also appearing in the character's backpack) and a minor increase
in Fame for that character.

Example #2: One of the hardest Tailoring BODs to complete would be a
large bulk order for 6 SBODs—1 SBOD for each of the 6 pieces that make
up a set of leather armor, with each piece being of exceptional quality, and
each piece made with the new barbed leather material.

The player will need to collect the appropriate SBODs, and fill their requirements
as normal. The player may combine each SBOD as it is completed with the LBOD,
and when all the required SBODs are combined into the LBOD the player will drop
the LBOD onto an NPC Tailor or Weaver in order to receive their reward.

The reward would be a bank check for a large sum of gold (in the character's
backpack), one special item (also appearing in the character's backpack) and
an enormous increase in Fame for that character.