UO:2006-04 Newsletter

MyUO Newsletter: April 2006

In this action packed issue of the UO Newsletter we discuss the following:

• From the Pen of Darkscribe...
• New Buddy Rewards Coming Soon
• Spring Décor Now on Sale
• New Player Guide Revamped
• Publish 40 Details

From the Pen of Darkscribe...

Questions I'm asked a lot:

• What's the future of UO?
• What's your vision?
• When are you going to fix (insert feature here)?
• Why are you working on (insert feature here that doesn't mesh with the asker's preferred gameplay style)?

I'll answer all those soon, but for now, I have to be a bit coy as we are still deep in the planning process. I will say this: The players themselves will reveal the future of UO.

That's all for now!

- Darkscribe

PS: To the reds hanging out in the basement of Despise, you'll get yours. Be patient.

New Buddy Rewards Coming Soon

As a way for us to say thank you to our subscribers for introducing others to the world of Ultima Online, we're adding two new rewards to the Ultima Online Bring A Friend To Britannia program. When you refer a buddy to the world of Ultima Online, and they keep their account active and in good standing for ninety (90) consecutive days, you'll get a free month of gameplay plus a code that will allow you to choose between the +200 Luck Fortuity Necklace, an Evil Home D'cor item, or a 7th Anniversary item.

The best part is that you don't have to wait until Publish 40 to refer your buddy! After Publish 40, all unused Bring A Friend To Britannia reward codes will let you choose between the three rewards above. That means that after Publish 40 if you've referred a buddy in the past, but haven't used your code yet, you'll still get to choose from any of the new rewards!

(No combat-related items will be blessed on the Siege Perilous and Mugen shards.)

To refer your buddy and get your rewards, click here.

Spring D'cor Now on Sale

Spring is in the air! A wave of innovation has washed over the land with the introduction of new crafting techniques by the Elves of Heartwood. Blacksmiths, tinkers, carpenters, tailors -- all are profiting from finer tools, unique recipes, and the newfound exchange of ideas. Guildhalls have been filled with the busy sounds of craftsmen running to and fro, all trying to produce new and exciting things.

Now, in order to showcase a few of the finest examples of their work, our own craftsmen from Britannia to Tokuno have teamed up with the mages' guilds to bring you the Spring D'cor Collection!

Whether you're inviting friends over for a rousing game of Mongbat Darts or sipping Shochu with them in front of the fire, you'll find that any one of the pieces from the Spring D'cor Collection can bring new life to your home.

Visit the Spring D'cor page now!

New Player Guide Revamped

We've recently rewritten the New Player Guide section of uo.com to make it easier than ever for new players to get starting playing Ultima Online. In just three easy-to-understand pages, the New Player Guide:

• Shows new players where they can get the UO client.
• Walks them through the process of choosing a shard and creating their first character.
• Shows them a summary of the basic commands and controls needed to play UO.
• Gives them tips from UO players and UO Team members alike on how to hit the ground running in their first few days playing.

If you've got friends or family that you want to join you the world of Ultima Online, now is the perfect time! With new buddy rewards coming with Publish 40, and the New Player Guide to help them along during their first few days in UO, it's never been easier for new players to discover Britannia.

Visit the New Player Guide Here.

Publish 40 Details

Since our last newsletter, things have changed a bit for Publish 40. After a thorough review of the previous proposal for combat and listening carefully to your feedback, we've decided to go with a new proposal that we call the combat proficiency system. Not only is it easier to understand, it will also allow you to focus on the areas of combat you want to while limiting the impact equipment has on the outcome of combat. However, since we want to make sure to give you plenty of time to test the new system and provide feedback to help us tweak it before it goes live, Publish 40 will not include the proficiency system.

Another major reason for this decision is that there are some other additions and changes to UO that have already been completed (or are close to completion). Instead of making you wait for these cool improvements, we'd rather you had them as soon as possible. So what are these changes we're talking about? Glad you asked! Here is a summary of what's currently included in Publish 40 (keep in mind this list is subject to change and is not complete):

• A new and easy to use targeting system
• The addition of Buff/Debuff icons to the UI
• Changes to improve the impact of swing speed in combat
• The removal of honor and perfection from PvP
• Adjustments to wands
• The scroll/spell issue is being addressed
• Changes to how tracking works with ninjitsu
• A new quest to reveal another piece of Virtue Armor
• New Buddy Rewards
• Adjustments to the Moonglow Zoo Community Collection
• A mysterious extra little tidbit that will not be revealed until later (it's fun, we promise!)
• Miscellaneous other combat, bug, and exploit fixes

We're currently planning to release an early implementation of the proficiency system to a test shard soon. Please keep an eye on www.uo.com for more information. We're very excited about these improvements to Ultima Online, and we can't wait to get them into your hands!