ORIGIN - Ultima Online - Main

May 16, 2008



"Ack! A monster teleported into my private house! What do I do?"

Ah, yes, the monster with no sense of boundaries. While you can't actually ban them, they should respond to a firm tone of voice. Maintain your composure and say "Remove thyself" (and then target the monster.) That should send it packing!

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"Monster's Curse spell seems to have become more powerful - what happened?"

This was one of those wonky side-effects of working with ten-year-old code - what seemed to be a simple change to make the "Curse" buff icon show up seems to have altered the actual effect of the Curse spell when cast by NPCs. (It now reduces your resists as well as your stats.) We're investigating, and hope to have the situation resolved in one of the next few publishes.

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Focus Group Update:

We've got a solid core of people in the focus group at the moment, and invites are on hold. However, this will be a relatively long-running focus group, and we may need more bodies once we get them on a test shard, so I may invite further waves - keep an eye on your inboxes, and if you would still like to apply, go ahead! (But do note that I'm working through the stack first-come, first-serve.)

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What's To Come:

The Vanguard is active on all shards! Early scouting reports suggest that the threat may be spreading beyond Cove - be vigilant!

Next week (barring the usual miniature disasters - we're dealing with some hardware issues at the moment, so this is more subject to change than usual) should see Publish 53 on the Test Center, which will include some long-looked-for bug fixes and an update to the Spring Cleaning turn-ins - both new items to be turned in for points and new rewards! And the Shadowlords, of course, have not been idle...

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Fansite News:

Got several good bits today!

First from UOForums:

Whispering Rose Radio has released the source recording for the last Town Hall - get them on UOForums here! It's open to guests, so no one has to register.

Also, UOForums did an interview with Escaflowne, GM of the Vesper guild on Europa, which is located here. (UOForums is also looking to interview any/all guild GM's who'd be willing, as it's a good way to get their guild name out there, so if you're interested, Adam can be emailed at - adam (AT) uoforums.com)

The Lost Lands also has a special treat - an interview with Kilandra! Check it out here!

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Town Hall News:

If you missed the Rockville Town Hall, don't despair - check out the recording linked above, or look at our schedule (now including Seattle!) to find out when we'll be near you! The next one is in San Diego at the end of July, and we'll have plenty to talk about - so if you're in southern California, now's not too early to RSVP!

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Have a great weekend, folks!

- Jeremy

cool! wondering what'll be these new items
Shadowlords'll come back? i hope!!!

Did they ever leave?

I actually like the curse-accident...well, not like-like, but it gives the bad guys some edge (that they need badly). Sooo...keep it?

We´ve not seen the REAL Shadow Lords yet, the ones in Moonglow were ethereal "projections". And they did a nice job a keeping us busy while they did virtues-know-what in secret...

Woot for the UOF mention!

More non-Stratics fansite love (even though its kinda back up) yay!

I wonder which two items will be added to the turn-in.. threads or Vanguard items?

I, too, like the "accident" on the curse issue. While I am far from being a "power" player, and many MANY monsters still give me headache, part of the fun of the game for me is the adrenaline rush when something goes horribly wrong. Hunting with a group of seasoned veterans for the most part, things tend to run pretty smoothly, even at peerless and champ spawns. With the curse issue, even the seasoned vets would get a chance to taste the adrenaline once in a while. Just my two shillings worth...

Wondering what if the Shadowlords will take over again

Not again. The UO timeline differs from the single-player UO timeline, splitting of after Ultima I or II.
So all the stuff in Ultima V or others never happened in UO.

I like the PvM curses too. Why should curse -resists be PvP only? (I guess because people complain about dying too much in PvM situations, but oh well, hehehe)

I wish EA would name Five on Friday something else, like, Facts for Friday =D or something more loose, so when i see "Five," I won't get mad when I do not see five :/