UO:House of Commons from 2008-10-01

House of Commons from 2008-10-01

zigzag	Good evening and welcome to another great Stratics Ultima Online House of Commons chat! Tonight marks the 116th UO House of Commons. The topic is open, so any questions are welcome.
zigzag	Please send said questions to me - to do so type /msg zigzag and type in the window that pops up. Questions sent the developers will not make it into the lineup. Full logs of the chat will be up on uo.stratics.com shortly after the chat.
zigzag	We'll start with a brief introduction from Jeremy, who has a tough task tonight :) Now would be a good time to send those questions.
Jeremy_EAMythic	Hey guys! We're actually all in one room tonight, so I'll be typing the answers from a whole bunch of people :) (Oh, and I'm Jeremy, your friendly local community person)
zigzag	*CLEVER_DRAGON* Guten Tag, Bore Da, Hello! I would like to ask (if I may) if UO plans to expand beyond the 120 skill cap. It seems like fewer skills are needed these days because of some wonderful items one can obtain, and I think that a cap of say, 150 would be appropriate to allow players to specialise even further! Thank you sirs! *bows*
Jeremy_EAMythic	Draconi says "We have, in fact, been thinking quite a bit about this. Leurocian and I are now locked in fierce negotiations about this in Stygian Abyss."
zigzag	*FIERCE_DRAGON* Hi. Now that UO has a multitude of playable races(I LOVE IT) when can we expect to see Trolls and Gnolls enter the game?
Jeremy_EAMythic	There have been at least three questions about new races so far, so I just wanted to hit them all - right now, Gargoyles are our new race and we don't have concrete plans beyond that.
Jeremy_EAMythic	Once SA is out, we can start talking about future plans
zigzag	*Magnus* Question: Can we get some information on the SA client - Namely, will we be able to use Kingdom Reborn artwork solely, or will it always have the mixed? (And any other tidbits you can give! :D
Supreem‑EAMythic	We've decided to make the legacy tile art the default for the new client because it is very consistent and keeps to the general feel of UO. We might still make the KR art an option but definitely not the default.
Supreem‑EAMythic	There are bits and pieces of the KR art still in the legacy art mode when they are necesary (for example cave entrances and shorelines)
zigzag	*Greg* Can we expect a good amount of new weapons in SA? Are classic weapons going to get rebalanced?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Yes, we will be introducing a number of new weapons - stay tuned to the SA website for more info. We also have an additional designer who's dedicated solely to balance!
zigzag	*Jove* When is the Stygian Abyss scheduled to release and will it be available be for 2d?
Jeremy_EAMythic	We have not yet announced a release date, but it WILL be available for 2D.
zigzag	*Zelda* will there be an 11th year vet gift?
Jeremy_EAMythic	We were just plotting today the details of the 11th year vet rewards and other goodies :)
zigzag	*illandril* Any ETA on beta time for SA/SA Client? Or at least for the next tidbit of juicy info?
Supreem‑EAMythic	Well I can give you some juicy tidbits now! :)
Supreem‑EAMythic	There are no more fixed UI elements. Any window's position can be moved!
Supreem‑EAMythic	Game window is no longer locked to 4:3 aspect ratio. This means a widescreen resolution will show more of the game horizontally.
Supreem‑EAMythic	Flexible desktop can be stretched to any size and aspect ratio and is always on (no longer an option)
Supreem‑EAMythic	Mob highlighting has been implemented a la the legacy client
Supreem‑EAMythic	The map and radar now have a 'classic' look and the radar shows houses now
Supreem‑EAMythic	Healthbar appears under the mob you are currently attacking
Supreem‑EAMythic	Tip of the Day window gives tips and tricks for adjusting to the new UI
zigzag	*Jove* What I really want to know is, Will the Naturalist quest include the newer plants?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Yes, that should be in Publish 56
zigzag	*Fearmeirl* Question 3: "We also have an additional designer who's dedicated solely to balance!" Is that just for items, or does that include everything from PvP to PvM to crafting?
Jeremy_EAMythic	It's for everything! He's going to be a very busy man and is a very experienced UO player.
zigzag	*mayadevi* What is the timing scedule for pub 56 ? I understand that the last pub only spent one day on origin to give everyone on other shards teh chane to discover new things, but that seems to have hepled it be very buggy. Will we get a week to bang on pub 56 on origin ?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Currently the plan is to put 56 on Test Center for a week or so, then a couple of nights on Origin. Mesanna personally requests your esteemed presence on TC to help us bang on it!
Jeremy_EAMythic	55 had some unique issues that made it difficult to test properly on TC (relating to the plants' maintenance cycle and the nature of vet rewards) that shouldn't be repeated.
zigzag	*Jove* Any chance of new arties coming out?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Draconi says "I'd like you guys to think of Stygian Abyss as the next generation of Doom, so yes, there will be arties. That's not to say the system of getting the arties will be the same."
zigzag	*mayadevi* My cook woudl really really LOVE to be able to wield her rolling pin and/or frying pan as a weapon, the way smith can weild hammers, any chance those could make it into the new weapons for SA?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Draconi again: "This would be absolutely cool, and it's something we can look into after we've squared away all the new equippables for SA."
zigzag	*Jove* What about Fel are you adding new places for people who love Felluca?
Jeremy_EAMythic	There will be parts of the Stygian Abyss that are Fel-ruleset! They're not mirrors of the Trammel ruleset areas - they will be unique sections of the dungeon.
zigzag	*Greg* Are you planning something new for the Halloween content/event? (I'm assuming we're going to have one)
Jeremy_EAMythic	Draconi says "Heck yeah!"
Jeremy_EAMythic	Draconula says "Vewy good..."
zigzag	*athos_uo* Will be Powder of Fortifying be used on imbued items in SA?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Leurocian says no, and you can hear more about the details of Imbuing at the Chicago Town Hall
Jeremy_EAMythic	Leurocian can answer all of your questions there in person :)
zigzag	*GvP_[Ches]* Any word on new tameables with SA, and any considerations regarding a stable slot increase?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Our new designer Mark says "The plan for SA is currently for new tameables but no new stable slots. This doesn't mean that new stable slots are entirely off the table, but they aren't currently planned to be part of the expansion."
Supreem‑EAMythic	Mark is cool
zigzag	*Jove* Anything for a thief to do in this new world of yours?
Jeremy_EAMythic	Mesanna says "We will be giving thieves some love even before the new world opens up!"
zigzag	ok everyone...that will wrap it up for tonight! Thanks to everyone for attending! You can join #ultima-online to chat more about the game. The log for tonight’s chat will be up shortly on http://uo.stratics.com!
Supreem‑EAMythic	Bye guys!
Supreem‑EAMythic	*waves*
Jeremy_EAMythic	Thanks for coming!