Long story short, on my to-do list was to figure out someway to display the Five on Friday information that comes to us from UO.com every week (where the developers answer five questions). It was pretty far down the list, but somebody contacted me out of the blue and asked me about a way to easily search the FoF information. I got to looking at it, and played around with it a bit, and the end result is this: Five on Friday by Topic. Basically I broke every Five on Friday question down by a specific topic (or multiple topics) and posted it on a seperate page with other questions that concerned the same topic, and it’s all listed by date. If you want to see all client-related questions, you’d click on the Client link, if you want to see all 9th Anniversary questions, you’d click on the 9th Anniversary link, etc.

If you’d like to discuss it or make suggestions, a topic was started in the forums. It’s missing about two months worth of questions, but should be completed tomorrow or the day after (I was holding off until I found a format I liked before doing all of it).

We still have other major projects to finish (but they are coming along):
- UO-related books
- UO Developer listing
- Various timelines (publishes, client changes, etc.)
- Gallery (have 300+ screenshots to add, including 100+ of UO2 and Ultima X: Odyssey)
- Guide to UO products on e-Bay (not in-game items)

Lost in the shuffle of everything that went on over the weekend with the new scenario and the like, Wilki took the time saturday to answer 50 questions in a post at Stratics.

Some of the highlights:
- PunkBuster is close (could it be related to the Test Center coming down?)
- Factions will be the current form of PvP for the time being.
- Ninja forms/Deathstrike will be balanced
- A Halloween event is planned
- A new status bar/status bar choices will be in the Kingdom Reborn client

Full list of questions/answers:
(more…)

This thread at Stratics mentions some interesting information that relates to last weeks Five on Friday:

4. Will pre-patch Talon Bite minor artifacts ever be adjusted so that they have the same damage as the newer version?
John@EA “Wilki”, Community Coordinator: Yes, that is something we plan to address.

Wilki’s comments on Saturday:

I checked in the change last night. (UOC Note: Friday. September 15, 2006)

Basically, all ornate axes will have a base damage of 18:20. There are currently 4 versions out there:

New Ornate Axes with 18:20 dmg
Converted Ornate Axes with 20:20 dmg (due to technical limitations at the time, this was the best we could fix the early ones)
New Talon Bites with 18:20 dmg
Old pre-patch Talon Bites will higher damage (don’t know the numbers off the top of my head.

They’ll all be adjusted to 18:20.

From UO.com’s Five on Friday (Sep 15, 2006):

1. Do you ever plan to give everyone the +5 stat increase that currently is only available to players who were playing right after Age of Shadows?
Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen, Producer: Yes.

2. Currently, some of the house tile sets have a few missing pieces. Will those get added to the game eventually?
Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen, Producer: Yes.

3. Will the combat items that come with the 9th Anniversary Collection be blessed on Siege and Mugen?
John@EA “Wilki”, Community Coordinator: No, in keeping with our recent policy of not automatically blessing combat items on these two shards, they will not be blessed. However, you can still use your Personal Bless deed to bless them if you wish.

4. Will pre-patch Talon Bite minor artifacts ever be adjusted so that they have the same damage as the newer version?
John@EA “Wilki”, Community Coordinator: Yes, that is something we plan to address.

5. This blackrock seems incredibly dangerous! What’s the difference between “a piece of blackrock” and “a small piece of blackrock”?
Nicholas, Britain Mage’s Guild: Dangerous? Hardly! Blackrock seems to be completely magically inert - without any practical use at all!

Strangely enough though, our research does indicate that it has some unknown affect on dimensional structures, but we’ve been unable to fathom it.

As far as the difference between the two types of known samples (recently come to light), I can but say that the smaller pieces actually seem more unstable than the larger ones. We aren’t sure why this is so, but perhaps the larger ones will yield more consistent results in further experimentation.

This week’s Five on Friday has just been posted.

September 8, 2006

1. When do you expect pre ordering for the 9th Anniversary Collection to begin and when will we find out what will be included?
Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen, Producer: Pre-ordering at online software retailers will start this month. We will have a list of recommended retailers on the official 9th Anniversary Collection website.

2. Rumor has it we might see an increase in monthly fees around the same time as the new client, is this true and if so why should we pay more?
Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen, Producer: There will not be a rate increase when the new client is launched, and there is no rate increase planned for the foreseeable future. As with all consumer products, it is possible that one day the price could go up, and if that should ever occur, players will be given ample notice before it does. But let me reiterate, there is no plan to raise the subscription fee when we launch the new client.

3. Will rate over time skill training on Siege ever be changed to make training faster?
John “Wilki”, Community Coordinator: We’d like to see more players on Siege, and we’re looking at perhaps speeding up rate over time skill gaining to encourage that. Currently, it’s quite slow, and there isn’t really a compelling reason to make a veteran player wait so long to have a developed character.

4. Any thoughts by the team on changes to some of the more difficult skills that require lots of repetition of things people would never do naturally?
John “Wilki”, Community Coordinator: Yes, ideally, every skill would be feasible to gain during normal gameplay, even at high levels. For example, instead of gaining only from taming the same creatures repeatedly, perhaps one could also gain through using a pet in combat. That would be much more fun than taming and releasing hordes of white wolves.

5. When will hiding/stealth be fixed? My thief can’t even walk 5 tiles without being revealed with 100 hide, 90 stealth.
John “Wilki”, Community Coordinator: We’re hoping to have some changes in Publish 43. Currently, every time you take a step while stealthed, every mobile around you does a skill check. Even at low detection rates, those add up pretty fast. That will almost certainly be changed.

This week’s Five on Friday has been posted to UO.com:

1. Did the 30 day timer for house decay go into effect on August first or was it postponed for publishes and the current story arc?
Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen, Producer: The 30 day timer has not gone into effect yet. Our goal is to put more housing slots into the hands of active players, and doing that effectively involves more than just the decay limit. We’re sorry for the delay. As soon as we have an update, we will announce on www.uo.com.

2. Will there be any released products in between 9th ann and UOKR?
Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen, Producer: No. But plenty will happen between those two releases.

3. When can we expect Punkbuster?
Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen, Producer: We are working hard to launch the public beta in September, taking care of some remaining polish issues. We don’t want to launch even the beta version until we feel it’s ready. As soon as we have a beta launch date, we will announce on www.uo.com.

4. Is there a chance of a Halloween shard again this year?
Draconi: Count Draconula: Vat a velcome question! Ve suppose it all depends on you… do you veally vish to be our victims for a fortnight vonce more?

5. Can you explain the recent leech changes?
John@EA “Wilki”, Community Coordinator: The old method used your leech % as a chance for the effect to fire each time you swing. Each time the effect fired, you would get 40% of the post-resist damage inflicted back as mana, or 30% back as hit points.

The new method uses the leech % as the top end of a range. The amount of that 40% of mana (or 30% of life) that actually gets delivered is randomly determined — from 0 to your leech %. This amount is added every time an attack hits.

The resulting effect is that the amount leeched over time will be less — from a little bit less, for slower weapons, down to about half for fast ones. However, because it will deliver smaller amounts continuously, hopefully it will not feel like the ability has been nerfed dramatically.

UO.com has been updated with this week’s Five on Friday from August 25, 2006 - questions and answers for and from the UO Development Team.

1. Can you tell us more about the 9th Anniversary box?

Darkscribe: Just a bit. It will contain Mondain’s Legacy, cost $19.99, and even though it ships in late October, you probably won’t see it on shelves until early in November. And there is a very special surprise early buy anniversary gift, and it doesn’t involve the word “soul” or “stone.”
(more…)

The August 18, 2006 Five on Friday questions at UO.com. News (or not) about the New Client being developed, as well as the ongoing scenario, and the winners of the Personal Attendants.

1. Can you tell us more about the new client?

Darkscribe: I’d love to answer every question right now, but for now I have to say, “We’ll answer you soon.” By the end of this year, I doubt there will be a question left unanswered. And there will be a full announcement with many more details in the near future.

Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen it, you can check out the teaser site here, and my note about it here.

And don’t think that the in-game fiction cycle has ended. More in-game surprises are in store as well.

2. What’s going to happen to Inu now?

Wilki: Well, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.

Hint: This isn’t the last you’ll see of Inu the Crone!

3. Will there be any use(s) for the items we are collecting now from the ophidian invasion like the green journals and the snake skins?

Draconi: Definitely! Some may be more useful than others, though.

4. Whats with the angry Fire blocking the way to the star room area in the keep?

Draconi: Somehow the Ophidians have managed to seal off the Terathan lair, trapping the bulk of their forces inside. A few brave scouts managed to make their way down there, and have reported the following.

* The flames are deadly to any living thing, and any attempt to simply run through them will be met with a rather unpleasant death.
* The flames are magical in nature, and we’ve asked some of the Grandmasters from Moonglow to investigate their properties. This is proving difficult, however, as the Ophidian forces have been nearly overwhelming.
* The Terathans seem to be trapped on the other side. Our scouts have heard agonizing and otherworldly screams echoing across the sharp snaps of the flames… but can only guess what horrors have been unleashed upon them.

5. Can you tell us who received Personal Attendents from the Pub41 test shard giveaway?
Wilki: Here are the five winners:

1. C. S.
2. Oliver B.
3. Eric Y.
4. Chad L.
5. Yuuki K.

Congratulations to all of the winners!

August 11, 2006 - Five on Friday at UO.com. Interesting news about the Red Soulstones/Vet Rewards, as well as a lot of Inu Scenario related stuff (including an important hint).

1. Are the Red Soulstones available as 1st year vet rewards going to be given in token form, or will they be bound to the account that claims them?

Wilki: They will be bound to the account that claimed them.

2. Will more vet reward choices be added to the list over time?

Ando: For the time being we’re polishing the vet rewards we’ve already announced. We will consider the possibility of adding more rewards at a later time.

3. What happened to the Terathans?

Draconi: The Ophidians have been so aggressive that no one has had a chance to investigate exactly what happened to the Terathans. Something shifted in the balance of power between the two races. If only someone could get down far enough in the Terathan Keep to get more information.

4. Can you give use some insight on how you’ve developed the Ophidian Invasion? What were your overall goals, and do you think you achieved this?

Draconi: The Ophidian invasion is a bit of a labor of love between a lot of people on the team. We’ve all had our hands in different parts of it, so I’ll try to just give a quick rundown on how it was developed.

The overarching goal for the invasion has been both to entertain and to set the stage for things yet to come. Inu still lies captured, cut off for weeks upon weeks from the world. The visions she sees and the portents foretold are coming to a head, and soon everything must be revealed. It’s only appropriate that in this time of turmoil that the world itself should begin to be plunged into chaos. We felt that the players have been given a chance to stand united against a common foe; some learning how to work with one another for the first time, and others being able to bring their experience to the fore.

So the invasion began in what seems to be a normal course of events. The Ophidians are wronged, and therefore struck back. Yet then the villagers of Papua are decimated, and thus retaliate aided by volunteers from across the facets. We’ve seen the invasion progress from a simple set of random Ophidian scouts, to avengers setting upon thieves, to attacks on cities, and now what seems to be… something more. We’ve worked with the GMs to deliver many portions, created new systems entirely, and even leveraged the abilities of the advanced spawner from the Despise invasion - it’s definitely been a fantastic process.

It’s certainly our hope that we’ve succeeded in our foremost goal: having people enjoy the invasion and feel like they got something from it (mmm, army rations…). Beyond that, yes, be prepared, I don’t think we’re quite done yet.

5. I’ve really enjoyed collecting the new loot that drops from Ophidians. Could we see more fun loot like this in the future?

Ixthiassth the Ophidian: Yesshhh, oh, and ssshouldesth I peristh… pleassh gifth myy shjournal to myy family.

The August 4, 2006 Five on Friday is online at UO.com. News about Punkbuster, the 9th Anniversary, and a, umm, disturbing development in regards to Draconi.

1. How is the Punkbuster testing coming? Do you have an ETA on when we could expect to be able to try it out?

Darkscribe: PunkBuster public beta testing should begin in August. We are almost set to go. We’ve been testing it in-house and have made some improvements that should make it extremely easy to install and use. Keep in mind, as I’ve promised, if it doesn’t work as well as we’d like, or if it causes problems for regular, honest players, we will delay its full launch or not use it at all.

2. When will the 9th Anniversary Edition come out? Has there been a date set yet?
Darkscribe: We are planning on October. We are finalizing the contents and adding a surprise or two. Look for an announcement soon.

3. What’s up with looting rights on Ophidian Berserkers?

Draconi: The Ophidian Berserkers absorb damage much differently than the other Ophidians. It seems the original version, while still letting incremental damage build up, wasn’t adding players to the loot table unless they managed significant damage. So if someone walked in and hit it last, they received the loot rights by default. We’ve fixed this by ensuring at least 5% of your damage is applied directly to the Berserker, however, the Berserkers have become slightly stronger to deal with their now weakened shielding.

4. How exactly do Power, Vanquishing, and Mystic weapons help against Berserkers, and to what extent?

Draconi: The Power, Vanquishing, and Mystic weapons cut directly through the Berserker’s magical shielding to deal a certain percentage of the damage you would’ve done normally to it. Power does the least percentage, and Mystics do the highest. The damage numbers you see when dealing damage to Berserkers is the 5% mentioned above, and doesn’t include the extra damage the magical weapon has included as well.

5. How come Liane had to die?

Draconi: I think we were all shocked by just how vicious the Berserkers truly are. Even the normal Ophidians fear them, and the higher ranks have weapons made specifically to deal with any that get loose. Intelligence indicates that the Berserkers are only loyal to the Ophidian females – to the point of even murdering their own troops.

Beyond that, I think it’s been an eye-opener that the Royal Council has done virtually nothing to aid Papua or Vesper during this crisis, instead relying on the local militias, guilds, and mercenaries who’ve been doing their best to stem the tide. I don’t feel that Liane did have to die…

Editor’s Note: Speaking of dying, after Draconi so graciously answered these questions, he mysteriously disappeared. An hour or so later, EA Security called to let us know they needed the services of a healer once again, and that we’d need to send someone down to clean up the mess. The odd twist to this story is that Draconi’s ghost apparently has an affinity for photography, as once he was rezzed, he emailed this… um… self portrait. Click here to see it.