UOForums Interviews Mesanna, UO Associate Dev Manager

**Adam** · 3rd July 2008, 02:37 PM

Again, thanks to Mesanna for taking the time out to answer our questions

Here's Mesanna's interview!

1) Thanks Mesanna..
I'd really like to know the future direction of UO. There’s been lots of EA staff/ company changes that have affected the direction of UO and it would be good to know what is happening in the future.
Can you enlighten us?

Even with all the changes to the team I personally love the direction I see UO going in. UO is going back to the basic story line of the original games which we all loved.

2) Please describe your average day there at EA Mythic.

Oh god! I never have an average day, every day is different that’s why I love my job. But in a nut shell let me try this really fast, emails, schedules, bug reports, feedback, schedules, lunch, more emails, few meetings, reviewing bug reports, pounds head, takes asprin…go home *laugh* Hows that?

3) What is your biggest challenge being on the UO Team?

Putting out a publish that will make everyone happy.

4) As the Associate Development Manager, what are your goals for Ultima Online?

My goals are the same as everyone else on the team, to fix bugs, add content and events that the players will enjoy and have fun with.

5) Lastly, and most importantly... carne asada or carnitas?!

I love this question, Carne Asada of course! That’s one thing that I really do miss is getting GOOD Mexican food.

6) What is the weirdest bug you've seen graphic wise? (Like Killer Bacon showing up instead of a EV)

This might not be funny to anyone else but it is to me, we had one tile in New Haven that every time you stepped on it you heard a chicken. That cracked me up, and yes I know its not a graph bug but it plagued us for a while.

7) How do you like your new location at EA Mythic?

I am enjoying the change but its hard to get used to the weather changes. I have been used to watching the weather reports and hearing almost the same thing 24/7 “It’s going to be hot and sunny”, here I actually have to pay attention to what the weather man says. *grins*

8) How do you like your new office furniture? (Silly Question, but my company helped install it!)

I don’t know, tell me what you guys put in and I will tell you if I like it.

9) What is something new you'd like to see implemented into UO?

This is just my personal opinion! I would like to see BOD’s for carpenters, fletchers, tinkers and more stackable items

10) What is something you miss from old school UO?

This one is easy to answer, in the old days when you turned RED you were proud of it and there was no turning back. I loved that! We had some of the best blue/red wars.

11) What is your favorite game other then UO?

I know your going to think I am just saying this but its true. I have enjoyed Dark Age Of Camelot for a long time. It’s a totally different type of game that requires different skills.
But I love being a stealther hiding in the bushes waiting for someone to run by so you can perf them or backstab them. *wow that actually sounds brutal in writing*

12) In game are you a crafter or a killer?

I have both, crafter out of necessity and killer cause I always loved the adrenaline rush from a good fight.

13) Hi Messana, thank you for holding this interview!

I only have one question I’ve been wondering about. What can we expect from the Epic Event supposed to happen this year? I read there would be some realm changing things happening...

This is more of a question for Draconi to answer, lets wait for an interview with him and he can answer it then.

14) What criteria, if any, do you follow in putting certain items ahead of others on the list that actually make it through on each publish?

I review all the reports being sent in by the players, then ask for input on what type of calls the GM’s are receiving. I try to gather as much information as possible on new bugs and I try to get those along with old ones fixed as I can.

15) Is this process done before or after anything is worked on (I.E. Devs only work on parts you deem worthy of fitting in the next publish, or are they working on various parts and you cherry pick from there)???

Guys, we all work very closely together and yes we do plan out each publish, there are always set things to accomplish then I get to add additional bug fixes going in.

16) How soon after a publish do you start working on the next?

After? We start working in the middle of one publish trying to plan out the next one, there is never a dull moment.

17) Thanks Adam and thanks Mesanna and Hello there
Well I can only think of one question at the moment as the other people who have replied to this thread have asked some pretty good ones. I'll add more if i can think of them, but my question is:
When will Stygian Abyss be released?

* Bites Tongue* I promise we will tell you when we can.

18) Is there any truth to the whisperings of in game weddings coming back from UO?

Yes weddings will be in the game, as of right now I can not say when but the bells well be ringing in the future.

19) Is UO a full time job or split between it and other games like WAR, DAoC?

We have a dedicated team that only works only on UO.

20) What priority is given to bug fixes (in other words what determines whether something gets attention or passed up)?

The bugs that interfere with game play have a higher priority than something like the water trough in Papau doesn’t give water.

21) Are you happy with the direction UO is headed? (content based question)

I am really excited with all the plans and direction UO is going. I wished I could say more but you will just have to be patient.

22) Does working on the game diminish playing it?

Not really, its just as much of a challenge for me to go get by body after some monster has kicked my butt as anyone else.

23) Lands and Facets; will we be seeing additional content in the other facets besides Britannia? Ilshenar, Tokuno, Malas, all need some love.

I wouldn’t be surprised *evil grin*

24) Will there ever be an overhaul to Treasure Hunting and Minor Artifacts; (and thus a specific set of Minor Artifacts for Treasure Hunters as well as...), a specific set of drops for Crafters, an Anti-Virtue Dungeon only drop (the virtue armor was a good start; let's improve upon this and take it to the other facets), a Tokuno-only drop, tuning and overhauls to the Ilshenar M-Arties?

All very good points, thank you for bringing them up. But not something I can honest give you a yes or no answer on at this point.

25) Will we ever see an incentive to return and defeat the Tokuno champion again?

I enjoyed fighting him also as a player. All I can say is don’t be surprised but I am not making any guarantees

26) You said that you play Ultima Online.

Do you get frustrated like other players with the minor details of the game that are over looked with every publish? That would make UO look better.
Like for example *(foundations*) they gave us shadow and Crystal and Elven.... Can I get a Fricken Tower foundation? Or a log Cabin? maybe a sandstone or Marble?

I don’t get frustrated but then again I know how hard we work for each publish and how much we actually try to get into each one.

27) Can castle owners get some love?

*hugs* =P

28) Will we ever get to use our courtyards to lock stuff down in?

I have to admit that would look awesome to see fountains flowing in the courtyards and fruit trees. Will it ever happen, I just can’t answer that right now. Ps I love decorating

29) Hi Messana! At any time, have there been talks about combining shards, or allowing free cross shard transfers? Do you personally believe crowded shards would help the game or destroy it? Thanks!

Honestly I don’t think it makes a huge difference. You usually have a group/guild that you run with. You have specific people that you have formed close bonds with that you do everything with. Those are the people you stick the closest to. Does it matter to you that there are 100 or 500 people on the same shard? Now if your looking for people to kill, oh yeah bring on the people…lol

30) With so many people leaving UO...My only question is this..are you currently, or do you plan to do anything to try to bring peoples interests back to the game...I played UO for ten years and it was painful to watch it die from pure lack of attention...I mean all you had to do was read any UO message board to see all the complaints and stuff for the past year or so..and it's as if it fell on deaf ears

Nothing is falling on deaf ears I promise you, we are settled in our new home and everyone is giving UO 100% of their attention.

31) My first question is when or rather if anything is going to be done about the blatant scripting going on in all shards by characters farming gold in painted caves and fan dancer dungeon. I like to hunt in the painted caves to train and gather gold the old fashioned way of being at my keyboard and the scripters there make it impossible.

I can just say this, we hate cheaters as much if not more than you do and will do everything we can to stop them.

32) When is UO gonna give us thiefs some love?

What kind of love would you like to see?

33) What is your favorite food to eat?

Looks at Queen Mum *COOKIES*

34) What is your favorite drink?

This is a very odd question, but I drink coke

35) Will there be more ingame quests? I do like the events that are going on in Cove, N'jehlom, etc.. just wondering if we will have more!

You never know, we are always adding something *grins*

36) What is the #1 thing , item or system you would love to see fixed , updated or removed?

As far as fixed – Factions, Champ spawns, Stackables

Many thanks to Mesanna for a great interview and of course to our posters who submitted the questions.

**Snugglebunny** · 3rd July 2008, 05:40 PM

Thanks for a great interview! PS Pepsi is better

Lord Target · 3rd July 2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

34) What is your favorite drink?

This is a very odd question, but I drink coke

(puts on anti-hijack paint)

Coke rocks.

IMO, Pepsi is nowhere near as good as the Mountain Dew: Voltage.

**Gnomy** · 4th July 2008, 03:45 PM

omg.. i didnt submit any questions about Gnomes!

*sobs*

Nok · 4th July 2008, 03:48 PM

Thanks Adam and Mesanna for a great interview.

athos_uo · 7th July 2008, 12:41 PM

I have translated this interview into Japanese for Japanese people to be able to read it easily in "Asian Shard Forums". Thanks for this great interview!

日本の人たちが簡単に読めるように、"Asian Shard Forums" に日本語訳を置きました。

3rd July 2008, 05:40 PM	#2
Snugglebunny ♥Yr Mangled Heart♥ Join Date: Mar 2006 Shard: Black Water Raiders Posts: 8,793 Gold: 12,478 My Mood: Thanks: 230 Thanked 52 Times in 39 Posts	Re: UOForums Interviews Mesanna, UO Associate Dev Manager Thanks for a great interview! PS Pepsi is better

4th July 2008, 03:45 PM	#4
Gnomy Forum Legend Join Date: Sep 2006 Shard: Snowbourn - LOTRO Posts: 2,500 Gold: 16,590 My Mood: Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 45 Thanked 46 Times in 35 Posts	Re: UOForums Interviews Mesanna, UO Associate Dev Manager omg.. i didnt submit any questions about Gnomes! sobs

4th July 2008, 03:48 PM	#5
Nok Publisher - GameXbar Join Date: Aug 2007 Shard: Baja Posts: 1,220 Gold: 15,414 Thanks: 677 Thanked 175 Times in 109 Posts	Re: UOForums Interviews Mesanna, UO Associate Dev Manager Thanks Adam and Mesanna for a great interview. GameXbar: DAoC - LOTRO - MMO - UO - WAR - WoW

7th July 2008, 12:41 PM	#6
athos_uo Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 53 Gold: 3,919 Thanks: 3 Thanked 27 Times in 11 Posts	Re: UOForums Interviews Mesanna, UO Associate Dev Manager I have translated this interview into Japanese for Japanese people to be able to read it easily in "Asian Shard Forums". Thanks for this great interview! 日本の人たちが簡単に読めるように、"Asian Shard Forums" に日本語訳を置きました。 Last edited by athos_uo; 7th July 2008 at 12:42 PM..

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3rd July 2008, 02:37 PM	#1
Adam Lead Administrator Owner Join Date: Oct 1990 Posts: 6,429 Gold: 151,208 Thanks: 60 Thanked 948 Times in 312 Posts	UOForums Interviews Mesanna, UO Associate Dev Manager Again, thanks to Mesanna for taking the time out to answer our questions Here's Mesanna's interview! 1) Thanks Mesanna.. I'd really like to know the future direction of UO. There’s been lots of EA staff/ company changes that have affected the direction of UO and it would be good to know what is happening in the future. Can you enlighten us? Even with all the changes to the team I personally love the direction I see UO going in. UO is going back to the basic story line of the original games which we all loved. 2) Please describe your average day there at EA Mythic. Oh god! I never have an average day, every day is different that’s why I love my job. But in a nut shell let me try this really fast, emails, schedules, bug reports, feedback, schedules, lunch, more emails, few meetings, reviewing bug reports, pounds head, takes asprin…go home laugh Hows that? 3) What is your biggest challenge being on the UO Team? Putting out a publish that will make everyone happy. 4) As the Associate Development Manager, what are your goals for Ultima Online? My goals are the same as everyone else on the team, to fix bugs, add content and events that the players will enjoy and have fun with. 5) Lastly, and most importantly... carne asada or carnitas?! I love this question, Carne Asada of course! That’s one thing that I really do miss is getting GOOD Mexican food. 6) What is the weirdest bug you've seen graphic wise? (Like Killer Bacon showing up instead of a EV) This might not be funny to anyone else but it is to me, we had one tile in New Haven that every time you stepped on it you heard a chicken. That cracked me up, and yes I know its not a graph bug but it plagued us for a while. 7) How do you like your new location at EA Mythic? I am enjoying the change but its hard to get used to the weather changes. I have been used to watching the weather reports and hearing almost the same thing 24/7 “It’s going to be hot and sunny”, here I actually have to pay attention to what the weather man says. grins 8) How do you like your new office furniture? (Silly Question, but my company helped install it!) I don’t know, tell me what you guys put in and I will tell you if I like it. 9) What is something new you'd like to see implemented into UO? This is just my personal opinion! I would like to see BOD’s for carpenters, fletchers, tinkers and more stackable items 10) What is something you miss from old school UO? This one is easy to answer, in the old days when you turned RED you were proud of it and there was no turning back. I loved that! We had some of the best blue/red wars. 11) What is your favorite game other then UO? I know your going to think I am just saying this but its true. I have enjoyed Dark Age Of Camelot for a long time. It’s a totally different type of game that requires different skills. But I love being a stealther hiding in the bushes waiting for someone to run by so you can perf them or backstab them. wow that actually sounds brutal in writing 12) In game are you a crafter or a killer? I have both, crafter out of necessity and killer cause I always loved the adrenaline rush from a good fight. 13) Hi Messana, thank you for holding this interview! I only have one question I’ve been wondering about. What can we expect from the Epic Event supposed to happen this year? I read there would be some realm changing things happening... This is more of a question for Draconi to answer, lets wait for an interview with him and he can answer it then. 14) What criteria, if any, do you follow in putting certain items ahead of others on the list that actually make it through on each publish? I review all the reports being sent in by the players, then ask for input on what type of calls the GM’s are receiving. I try to gather as much information as possible on new bugs and I try to get those along with old ones fixed as I can. 15) Is this process done before or after anything is worked on (I.E. Devs only work on parts you deem worthy of fitting in the next publish, or are they working on various parts and you cherry pick from there)??? Guys, we all work very closely together and yes we do plan out each publish, there are always set things to accomplish then I get to add additional bug fixes going in. 16) How soon after a publish do you start working on the next? After? We start working in the middle of one publish trying to plan out the next one, there is never a dull moment. 17) Thanks Adam and thanks Mesanna and Hello there Well I can only think of one question at the moment as the other people who have replied to this thread have asked some pretty good ones. I'll add more if i can think of them, but my question is: When will Stygian Abyss be released? * Bites Tongue* I promise we will tell you when we can. 18) Is there any truth to the whisperings of in game weddings coming back from UO? Yes weddings will be in the game, as of right now I can not say when but the bells well be ringing in the future. 19) Is UO a full time job or split between it and other games like WAR, DAoC? We have a dedicated team that only works only on UO. 20) What priority is given to bug fixes (in other words what determines whether something gets attention or passed up)? The bugs that interfere with game play have a higher priority than something like the water trough in Papau doesn’t give water. 21) Are you happy with the direction UO is headed? (content based question) I am really excited with all the plans and direction UO is going. I wished I could say more but you will just have to be patient. 22) Does working on the game diminish playing it? Not really, its just as much of a challenge for me to go get by body after some monster has kicked my butt as anyone else. 23) Lands and Facets; will we be seeing additional content in the other facets besides Britannia? Ilshenar, Tokuno, Malas, all need some love. I wouldn’t be surprised evil grin 24) Will there ever be an overhaul to Treasure Hunting and Minor Artifacts; (and thus a specific set of Minor Artifacts for Treasure Hunters as well as...), a specific set of drops for Crafters, an Anti-Virtue Dungeon only drop (the virtue armor was a good start; let's improve upon this and take it to the other facets), a Tokuno-only drop, tuning and overhauls to the Ilshenar M-Arties? All very good points, thank you for bringing them up. But not something I can honest give you a yes or no answer on at this point. 25) Will we ever see an incentive to return and defeat the Tokuno champion again? I enjoyed fighting him also as a player. All I can say is don’t be surprised but I am not making any guarantees 26) You said that you play Ultima Online. Do you get frustrated like other players with the minor details of the game that are over looked with every publish? That would make UO look better. Like for example (foundations) they gave us shadow and Crystal and Elven.... Can I get a Fricken Tower foundation? Or a log Cabin? maybe a sandstone or Marble? I don’t get frustrated but then again I know how hard we work for each publish and how much we actually try to get into each one. 27) Can castle owners get some love? hugs =P 28) Will we ever get to use our courtyards to lock stuff down in? I have to admit that would look awesome to see fountains flowing in the courtyards and fruit trees. Will it ever happen, I just can’t answer that right now. Ps I love decorating 29) Hi Messana! At any time, have there been talks about combining shards, or allowing free cross shard transfers? Do you personally believe crowded shards would help the game or destroy it? Thanks! Honestly I don’t think it makes a huge difference. You usually have a group/guild that you run with. You have specific people that you have formed close bonds with that you do everything with. Those are the people you stick the closest to. Does it matter to you that there are 100 or 500 people on the same shard? Now if your looking for people to kill, oh yeah bring on the people…lol 30) With so many people leaving UO...My only question is this..are you currently, or do you plan to do anything to try to bring peoples interests back to the game...I played UO for ten years and it was painful to watch it die from pure lack of attention...I mean all you had to do was read any UO message board to see all the complaints and stuff for the past year or so..and it's as if it fell on deaf ears Nothing is falling on deaf ears I promise you, we are settled in our new home and everyone is giving UO 100% of their attention. 31) My first question is when or rather if anything is going to be done about the blatant scripting going on in all shards by characters farming gold in painted caves and fan dancer dungeon. I like to hunt in the painted caves to train and gather gold the old fashioned way of being at my keyboard and the scripters there make it impossible. I can just say this, we hate cheaters as much if not more than you do and will do everything we can to stop them. 32) When is UO gonna give us thiefs some love? What kind of love would you like to see? 33) What is your favorite food to eat? Looks at Queen Mum COOKIES 34) What is your favorite drink? This is a very odd question, but I drink coke 35) Will there be more ingame quests? I do like the events that are going on in Cove, N'jehlom, etc.. just wondering if we will have more! You never know, we are always adding something grins 36) What is the #1 thing , item or system you would love to see fixed , updated or removed? As far as fixed – Factions, Champ spawns, Stackables Many thanks to Mesanna for a great interview and of course to our posters who submitted the questions.