Servers Still Down, But I Received Classic Client Patch 7.0.16.3

It’s just after midnight and the login/account servers are still down for Ultima Online, but they are also still down for Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online. I did not realize that everybody that players of all three BioWare MMOs gets to go through this tonight.

Anyways, I got a small client patch that took me up to 7.0.16.3 (Patch 54) on the Classic Client. Not sure what that’s about since I thought the only work being done was on the accounting end of things, which would be out of EA corporate, and not BioWare.

I’m headed to bed, but obviously something is taking longer than normal.

Ultima Online – Holiday Update From the Producer

Calvin Crowner, the producer of Ultima Online, has posted a Producer Holiday Update to the UO Herald.

Before everyone heads off to face Independence Day traffic, I wanted to give you all an update.
Our overall goal this year was to keep a healthy cadence of small to medium publishes, fleshing out our current in-world content, while also offering more exploration. Less fiction more in-game activity. Shorter story arcs, more replay ability … so with that, here is the update:

Currently, some PvP changes we held on to for a few months have made it to Test Center. We have already gotten some initial feedback from North American, European, and Japanese communities, and are adapting the feedback accordingly. There are a few changes, and in this case, we think change is good.
Next week (after we return) we will be posting patch notes and adding High Seas content. We have tested and evaluated a new sea encounter, as well as updated rewards and elements of the fishing quests.

In addition, in the next several weeks, we’ll be adding client crash fixes, publishing the second phase of the current live story Ter Mur, and releasing a healthy dose of gameplay bug fixes.

We decide to split all of our content into two separate publishes.

After July expect to see the following:
· Clean up Britannia (the update formerly known as Spring Cleaning) – We are currently testing and evaluating about 850 items with turn ins and rewards
· Anniversary item additions
· Art resolution updates to the Enhanced client
· Veteran Rewards

None of this information should be new to those who have been following the boards and patch notes, but for those who are returning … and there has been a sizeable number of you … welcome back, and keep watching for updates.

Thanks to all of you have participated and taken the time to give us feedback on the latest in PvP changes … if you have not take a wander over and let us know what you think.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has participated in the Talents of Sosaria … for those who cannot draw or sculpt … if you have the inclination — please submit any house decorations for the 4th of July weekend to Mesanna.

Be safe and have a joyous weekend!

P.S. …. We have noted that there is a leadership vacuum in Britannia … Wait until you see how we fill it

I’m liking the more frequent updates from the dev team in regards to what is coming.

Things I like:
* Adding to or revamping already-established areas instead of adding new areas.
* High Seas updates
* PvP updates

And the two most important things in my view: high resolution art updates for the Enhanced Client (EC) and bug fixes. I think the high resolution art updates are very important to the future of UO and bringing in old and new players, but the bug fixes are just as important. For a while it seemed like they were an afterthought, but from what I’ve seen and read, it sounds like there are bug fixes constantly being added.

Origin gets Publish 70.4, Theme Packs

Yesterday, Origin received Publish 70.4, which includes the new Mini Booster Packs / Theme Packs:

Today Publish 70.4 comes to the Origin shard along with the Enhance Client Patch 4.0.14.4 and the Classic Client Patch 7.0.14.3. The shard will be unavailable until approximately 7pm EDT.

In the meantime we wanted to share the notes for your reading pleasure, thanks!

Publish 70.0.4
Rustic Theme Pack
Board and Batten wall tiles
Raised Garden Bed
Distillery
Topiaries
Rustic Bench
Commodity and Pet Broker Encampments

Gothic Theme Pack
Gothic wall tiles
Advanced Training Dummy
Chest of Sending
Ritual Table
Gargoyle Statues
Commodity and Pet Broker Encampments

Note: Codes can be purchased at http://www.uogamecodes.com but will not be valid for any shard except for Origin until June 7th.

Bug Fixes
* Players are no longer able to steal from EM’s in Felucca
* Felucca players now have access to the stairs of the building in the hedge maze
* Corroded boxes will now properly highlight and show tooltips when locked down in your house and you customize it
* Ingots will no longer disappear when the player’s backpack is overweight when smelting
* Hell hounds can no longer be turned into Ancient Hellhounds
* Increased the chance to receive copper wire from thieving and a random chance to get it from Pirate Ships
* Pets owned by Faction members will now obey verbal commands given by the pet’s name

Enhanced Client 4.0.14.4
* The Use English Item Names option will now only apply to item properties names
* One line generic gump text boxes will no longer wrap to the next line
* Updated art for the Arcane Circle and the Freshly Picked Rose
* Cliloc updates

Classic Client 7.0.14.3
* Cliloc Updates
* Updated art for the Arcane Circle and the Freshly Picked Rose

UOJournal Note: http://www.UOGameCodes.com does not yet, as of June 2, 2011 1pm Central, have the proper codes/purchasing options up for the new Theme Packs.

From here on out, hopefully we’ll see less theme packs/booster packs and more work on the artwork updates and Enhanced Client.

The Future of UO – April 2011 Edition

First off, there will be spoilers, but not to the point of me digging around in client patches. Any spoilers you see below were mentioned in the Producer’s Letter.

I’m saving my thoughts about New Magincia for another post, but so far I’m impressed with what I’m seeing on my shard. I really thought it would turn into Luna 2, and I can’t apologize enough for thinking that. I’m planning on trips to all of the shards in coming weeks, but from my own and from a few others, I can say that many people moved to New Magincia with the intent of actually living there. I want to talk about other things though.

When Calvin Crowner posted his Producer’s Letter last week, it gave us a good idea of what to expect over the coming year from UO. I’m going to kind of post my thoughts in the order of the producer’s letter.

Vendor Bazaar
I won’t spoil it too much, but you can dig through the UO Journal archives or just search UO Journal for “vendor bazaar” and you’ll see plenty, but at this point I’m wanting to know how many and where they will be. From what has been said and what has been seen within the client files, I think it’s going to be an interesting system. I wonder how it will play out with people who have bought homes in what people thought would be a vendor-heavy area, who are deliberately resisting putting vendors out.

In the producer’s letter, it was mentioned that a “core feature that will fill out the bazaar will allow players to buy and sell commodities” which leaves me to wonder if the vendor bazaars will not be full vendors, but instead will only be able to sell certain goods – commodities such as reagents, lumber, ingots, and perhaps the various imbuing ingredients. That might just mean no rares, no weapons, or anything of that nature, just things that can fit in the commodity deeds. That strikes me as very interesting. It could very well turn New Magincia into a shipping or a manufacturing hub of sorts, while staying away from the tackiness/gaudiness of Luna. It might also keep runaway prices from happening, like what you see in Luna, since the market would be focused on one type of good – commodities. With a lot of people participating, you might see a race to the bottom of sorts.

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Ultima Online Client Patches 7.0.13.3 and 4.0.13.3 (Spoilers)

Kai Schober has posted the following to UOHerald.com in regards to new patches that were rolled out this afternoon.

Greetings,

We delivered a new client on the patcher today at 2 pm EDT – Classic Client 7.0.13.3 and Enhanced Client 4.0.13.3.

The Patch is a preperation for the upcoming Easter Events. The events will start on April 24 and lasts for two weeks till May 8th.

Please enjoy and have a safe Easter.

Included in these patches are some interesting tidbits relating to the future of UO.

SKIP THE TEXT BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!!

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