And unfortunately there are still those who play that continue to make comments that UO is still awesome and great trying to sway former players and realists back to a game that is dying. Discussing UO around here is still a great experience and if you read any of my posts you will see I still love the game and try to offer advice/knowledge /help wherever I can. Kit you know me and you know how much I've put into this game but when a discussion about UO's future comes up there will be two sides to it everytime. You yourself recently moved back to your old shard because of the lack of activity on LA thus proving my point. Just because some of us don't think UO has much of a future doesnt mean we are criticising those that play or belittling the game itself. Enjoy playing as you are, I'm glad you've found a new rebirth and interest and are enjoying yourself. Oh and in case you missed it this thread was about mmorpgcharts which show a decline in most mmo's leading into why UO (and many other games) are "dying".

I agree with you Tabs 100%. I will continue to offer any help/suggestions/insight that I feel can be helpful to anyone interested in hearing it, but as you say "we should do all we can to encourage ...have their say...shot down in flames". This includes those of us who are commenting on an obvious thread about declining numbers. To hammer every thread with "stop playing...UO is dying talk... is ludacris" however an obvious thread concerning declining numbers for UO and many other games begs to hear arguments from both sides of the fence. And yes as Kit has pointed out "we" really dont know whats going to happen, but when the question being posed is what is the future of UO its going to have differing opinions. I for one am not going to sit back and let the "optimists" say its great come play with me when my opinion is of a different nature. Isn't it just as annoying to be flamed for saying it "sux" as it is for saying its "great". Some of the "optimists" think that its ok to be very vocal in their support but not so when its you dont agree with them. Speak your mind good or bad, we all have our opinions, if you dont like the subject or the tone of a discussion then move on.

For some people, UO ** IS ** awesome and great. What's wrong with stating that? Those who still play UO aren't entitled to express their opinions? Or is it just that their opinions are wrong and therefore invalid?

That only proves that UO was no longer awesome and great for me on LA. UO continues to be awesome and great for me on Atlantic. If you equate shard population with death, LA isn't looking so healthy - but Atlantic is plenty busy. Brit still hops, Moonglow has been hopping with the latest invasion, and Luna still hops.

UO's subscriber base has decreased over the years, but the number of shards hasn't. Players, therefore, are quite spread out. Consolidation would bring people back together (though logistically, that's a whole nother conversation). I'm just saying that UO doesn't have to have the greatest number of subscribers to be enjoyable.

Fewer subscribers doesn't necessarily equate to death. According to today's dev post, subscribers have actually increased lately, and they've got the next 2 years considered in a comprehensive plan - but who believes what the dev's say, anyway? Link to today's dev post, for the few believers left out there - Ain't Five, but it's Friday

I don't expect UO to be as popular as it was 10 years ago, and maybe that's where I differ from many players and former players. There's always going to be some new-pretty-shiny. I like what I've got with UO, even though I've had to move around several times to keep with it. (Remember, LA was dead when UOForums moved there - and we chose it specifically for that reason! Not everybody's motivations are the same, and they shouldn't have to be!)


I suppose it was this quote (the tone of it, anyway), coming from you, of all people (someone I never expected to hear something like this from) -

I mean - that's just harsh. I bet JC HAS played in the last year, and I bet JC has his own reasons to feel that UO is very alive.

I've played in the last year, and I have my own reasons to feel that UO is very alive.

Why can't JC, or I, or anyone else just enjoy playing UO (and talk about it here) without fear of somebody insinuating that we're crazy?

I believe the dev team when they say that UO has a future. As long as I continue to enjoy the game, I'm going to continue to play it and pay for it. As someone who is not an expert in economics or game subscriber analysis, I will believe the dev team until I have reason not to. If I have to move around to follow the crowd to have like-minded people to play with, I will.

In the words of Cal Crowner - "This skeleton crew will see you on the 25th Anniversary of Ultima Online."

Wouldn't it be hilarious if us few believers were the ones saying, "I told you so!" a decade from now? Heck, I might keep playing UO just to find out!

OK taking a step back and rereading what I posted earlier...I apologize JC, I was pretty harsh in that statement.

I also never expected to be in the position where I didn't support and "stand-up" for UO which I have played on and off since beta at one point in time paying for 6 accts. Well, after seeing the continuous decline in players, content, bug fixes, exploit fixes, in-game help and the list goes on, *imo* this game is dying. Do I expect everyone to share my opinion? No, but I think everyone should at least look at the facts which are clearly visible. (yes I know the response "clearly visible to whom?")

And I would love to see UO hit its 25th anniversary! (tho *imo* its not going to happen) (if you are still playing let us know what color cards you get that year..maybe they will be silver ooo or a silver rose)

ok maybe consolidating shards would help the gameplay but its too difficult to make it happen based on people losing houses and what nots. Why not grant a temporary free char move for those interested in moving to a busier shard or slower for that matter. Housing wouldnt be as big an issue if they got rid of scriptors,dupers and EA houses for instance, but once again that would take the developers working on it.

Point Im trying to make here is UO was a great game but EA's "skeleton crew" doesnt take steps to keep it so "for everyone"!

And as Ive said there are differring opinions on all this and neither for or against should be criticised for stating their opinion.

Not to prove or disprove anything, but just for info sake... the Warhammer Herald site has a UO link up at the very top of the page.

Not that it means anything one way or another, but it does acknowledge that the WAR team included the other EAM titles if nothing else. Probably there will be (as there should be) crosslinking on the DAoC & UO sites down the road.

Well, if I'm not mistaken by the Cal guys post that took the FoF spot, the UO dev team has been working with the WAR team on Warhammer. (did I read it wrong?) So, it makes sense for them to give a shout out to all members involved.

My 2 cents on the whole mmorpg chart:

I don't need to see subscription numbers to know UO numbers are dwindling. I saw it when I still played, the numbers are declining. I see it just from UO thread topics in forums (people moving to "larger" communities). I see it from the lack of "I'm new, how do I..." posts (yes, there are some, but not nearly as much as there were even just 6 months ago). So in my eyes, once the subscription numbers hit X and the profit margin for UO (depending on layoffs/resource allocation/etc.) is no longer "worth it" it will be canned. Does that mean anytime soon? No. But the possibility is there. That fate lies in the dedication of the subscription payers.