Patch Notes from 2006-01-30

Patch Notes from 2006-01-30

Monday, January 30th, 2006 at 10:00AM PST (6:00PM GMT), we will deploy client patch 5.0.1i. The majority of the items in this client patch are support items for Publish 39. You can see these new features on the test shard once the updated Publish 39 is deployed to the Test Center at 3:00PM PST (11:00PM GMT).

Complete list of proposed changes in Publish 39.

Details for the patch are as follows:

• New Player Guided Tour has been added
• New Player Quests - 12 new quests geared at new players have been added.
• Font Improvements – 2 new English fonts for easier readability
• Default Layout

• Default location of gumps changed for new characters to make it easier to navigate the interface.
• Game window open larger by default for new characters
• Menu Shortcut Bar can now be moved in 2D client

• Spring Décor Collection items art – House decorations for Japanese starter kit
• Sticky Health Bars for all targetables
• New art for Dragon Armor and Helm of Swiftness
• New art for 2D login screen
• Mouse wheel scrolling for support for 2D client
• Restored scaling of character models in 3D client to original size. This will make the character models appear "normal" and no longer skewed. You will also notice a change in appearance to animals, monsters, and mounts as well.
• Changed message player receives when they are squelched and try to speak to "You cannot say anything at this time, you have been muted."

If patched correctly, your current version will display 5.0.1i for both clients.

If you have any difficulty receiving this patch, please check the following:

• Check the "Patch" directory within your Ultima Online directory (the default location is C:\Program Files\Ultima Online\Patch). This directory should be empty. Any files in this directory should be deleted.
• Run a virus scan on your computer. Undetected viruses may cause conflicts with patching Ultima Online. For information on up-to-date virus detection software, please visit http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/vso/default.asp.

If after trying the above, you are still experiencing difficulty patching the Ultima Online client, please visit this web page.

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Complete list of proposed changes in Publish 39.

New Player Improvements

• New Player Guided Tour System: Guided New Player experience added in conjunction with the release of the Japanese “Starter Kit”. Will be available (and skippable) to all new characters upon initial log-in.
• Font Improvements: Two new English fonts that make the text easier to read.
• Default layout: A new default layout that will make it easier for new and returning players navigate the interface. The default gameplay window size has also been set to the larger 800x600 option.
• Spring Décor Collection items: This is a set of house decoration items to be included in the Japanese “Starter Kit” available in February. These items will be available to other territories through uogamecodes.com beginning in March.
• Quest updates and additions: 12 new quests that help the new players get familiar with the game.
• Interface and Art Additions/changes
• Added new artwork for Dragon Armor and the Helm of Swiftness.
• Changed the character status screen artwork to make it more streamlined.
• Added new Login screen artwork for the 2D client.
• Added sticky health bars for all targetables.
• Mouse wheel scrolling support has been added for the 2D client.
• Menu bar can now be moved in 2D client
• Restored scaling of character models in 3D client to original size. This will make the character models appear "normal" and no longer skewed. You will also notice a change in appearance to animals, monsters, and mounts as well.

Bug Fixes – Exploits

• Players will no longer be able to attack mirror images to gain skill or cause harm to other players in Trammel.
• Changed the Mirror Image special ability so that it will no longer cause players to get “guard whacked” when used by other players.
• Travesty will now cause damage when mimicking a player with a non-weapon (fishing pole, candle, etc.).
• Energy field will no longer cause players to be flagged as aggressive in Trammel.
• Players will no longer be able to area of effect rez ghosts inside houses with Noble Sacrifice.
• Players will no longer be able to provoke pets on other players in a guard zone to get them guard killed.

Other Bug Fixes

• Lethal Dart and Broken Shaft quest will now work properly.
• Ossian Grimoire can no longer be “blessed” by leaving in a secured bag overnight on Siege.
• Helm of Swiftness can now be repaired.
• Helm of Swiftness obtained from a Peerless minor paragons can now be worn by Humans and has been assigned the correct resists.
• Changed two areas on Dreadhorn Island so they no longer teleport players out of the dungeon.
• Mondain’s 300th anniversary coin is now movable
• Damage from all archery weapons has been adjusted Some underpowered bows have been enhanced and some overpowered bows have had power reductions.
• You can now trade regular blessed items. Personal blessed items still may not be dropped in the trade window.
• Changed the way the Aminia Werewolf Quest spawns creatures.. This should eliminate problems with duplicate spawns.
• Animal form now has a recovery time of 2.5 seconds. FCR 6 will reduce this to 1 second.
• Animal form now costs 10 mana to cast.
• “Streakiness” in the random number generator should be improved. As a side effect “8x8” will no longer work.
• Flying creatures (dragons/drakes) no longer fall through surfaces when they are killed. This will make it easier to loot their corpses.
• Wyrms no longer spawn in or walk through stalagmites in Destard.
• Changed message player receives when they are squelched and try to speak to "You cannot say anything at this time, you have been muted."
• Made game balance changes to the Destard Dungeon to make it more challenging to defeat the dread spiders.

Gender and Name Change

• Warning text and a link to the uo.com information pages were added to Name and Gender Change gumps.
• When changing gender to male, players will now have the ability to select a facial hair style.