This should be the link, but it’s not - it’s broken at UO.com: http://www.uo.com/fiveonfriday22.html. July 28, 2006 edition of Five on Friday at UO.com. Information on the new house tile sets coming with the 9th Anniversary edition, as well as their focus. Also, somebody had to ask, “Is UO going to be cancelled?” :rolleyes:

1. What are the new house tiles, when do we get to see them?

Darkscribe: We’ll have screenshots and samples up on UO.com extremely soon. There are two sets, one of crystal and one we call shadow which has an edgy, dark feel. More info will be posted as the work on these progresses.

2. Where is your focus these days - new content, bug fixes, PvP balance or something else?

Darkscribe: Oh boy, we have a lot of focuses right now. New content? Yes. Bug fixes, yes, especially PvP balance and exploits. More than anything, my focus has been on working through new ideas and making detailed plans. We are trying to simultaneously plan out the next five publishes and the next three years.

3. Can you give us some more hints about Vet Rewards?

Darkscribe: Next week, we will announce every single one of them.

4. Is UO going to be cancelled?

Darkscribe: No! We are working extremely hard right now building a new future for UO. I wish I could let you in on what we’re up to, but please be patient. It will be worth the wait.

5. Has the dev team traced the origin of the uber item with extreme properties on Asuka? Are there any other items of the same kind?

Wilki: The Japanese team has led this investigation, however because this is an ongoing matter, that is all we can say at this time. Please know that we’re taking this extremely seriously and will make sure any and all items like this are removed and fully investigated.

In the future, if you see an item like this that obviously doesn’t belong in the game, please inform a Game Master immediately. If someone is found in possession of such an item and does not immediately report it, that person will most likely have action taken against their account(s). We take our responsibility to our customers very seriously, and will continue to not allow anyone to abuse or unbalance the game in such a manner.

The July 21, 2006 Five on Friday questions are now up on UO.com. Interesting comment about damage models, vamp models, and bookshelves (please add them :love: )

1. It was stated that an exploit was fixed in this week’s publish. Can you tell us what this was?

Ando: The exploit involved the housing system. However since the Dev team is not sure whether this was an issue players had actually discovered yet, it has been decided not to provide any further details about it.

2. Does discord negatively impact loot drops?
Wilki: No, it does not. Each monster has its own loot table, with luck playing a small role in determining what is actually generated upon death.

3. Has there been any discussion amongst the dev team about implementing a cap on melee damage? (e.g. to stop 60-70 damage concussion blows against 70 physical resist)

MrTact: No. We’d rather switch to a damage model that makes more sense. Obviously, that’s a huge undertaking and we’re not sure when that might be able to happen.

4. Does the dev team have any plans to change vamp form so that players in LRC suits start taking damage for casting spells that use garlic? Or is this as intended?

MrTact: It wasn’t intended that way. We should probably fix it at some point, but it’s way below our radar right now.

5. Are we ever going to get bookshelves (shelves with books)?

TheGrimmOmen: Although it’s not currently on the schedule, it seems like something we might consider in an upcoming publish.

The Five on Friday for July 14, 2006 is available at UO.com

1. I still have a lot of items that aren’t stacking together since Mondain’s Legacy. Can this be fixed?

Ando: I was just looking at this the other day. I’m hoping we should be able to fix many cases of this (though probably not all) in the near future.

2. Have you thought about putting commas on checks so we can easily see just how many zeroes a check has?

Draconi: Why yes, we have! It’s a real pain when trading bank checks to have to count the zeros (or other numbers) for each check. Not to mention the potential for an innocent player to be scammed by a less than virtuous one, who hides a 100,000 check amidst a few for a 1,000,000. While this may be a lower priority compared to the rest of our workload, if we’d like address this as soon as we have time to fit it in.

3. What specific changes are you thinking about next for combat?

Wilki: We’re looking at quite a few combat related changes, and will be releasing more details about this in the near future.

4. Are you still planning to address the items created with the imprisoned dog dupe?

Wilki: Yes, we are. The timetable has not yet been determined.

5. Do you have any clues as to whom or what angered the Ophidians?

Saax Pannae: Last week, they seemed to be focusing on the less virtuous members of society, specifically thieves. Perhaps being unable to find whatever it is that they’re after, they’ve grown frustrated and are resorting to brute force.

The 18th Five on Friday, July 7, 2006, has been posted to UO.com. It contains information about PB Testing, Proficiencies, checks/gold, and where the Five on Friday questions come from.

1. Grats on the 15 Trillion gold. Besides PunkBuster, do you have more plans to combat cheating in UO along these lines?

Darkscribe: Yes. PunkBuster is obviously our most public effort to combat cheating. There will also be a couple efforts you won’t hear about until after they are complete, much like this recent operation. Our goal is to make sure players who play by the rules are rewarded for their hard work.

2. How are things going with internal PB testing?

Darkscribe: Very well. We should be able to announce beta dates soon. We’ve made a few changes to how the client interface will work, to make it even more clear that PunkBuster is an optional install. Overall performance is looking good across a variety of different configurations and bandwidths.

3. What is the status of Proficiencies? Have they been scrapped, or will they be retained in a modified form?
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The June 30, 2006 edition of the Five on Friday is online at UO.com

1. Can you explain what has happened with the Aegis of Grace in Pub41?

Ando: One of the engineers came across a bug that was causing item properties not to update correctly on old items after changes were made to their templates. This had the unintended side-effect of essentially fixing items that had been essentially “bugged” in the past.

After making this fix and putting it on Origin and Pacific, the Dev Team realized the modification had affected older “pre-patch” Aegis of Grace helms, which were rare because they could be worn by humans and had the wrong art. So a decision had to be made before we published pub41 to the rest of the shards. On one hand, this bug fix was needed by the Dev Team because it was interfering with some work that was being done. On the other hand, we didn’t want to make these items no longer useful to humans who had always had them before. So a change was made so that all Aegis of Grace helms, both old and new, can now be worn by both humans and elves. Also, the older helms will continue to display the horned helm art instead of the circlet art (with the exception of the old ones on Origin and Pacific that had already been modified, which from what I understand were more difficult to change back - though this is still being looked into).

2. What kind of timeframe are we talking about with the delay of the Inu event? Weeks, months, a year?
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The 16th Five on Friday has been posted to UO.com. Hot topics - PunkBuster, EA’s acquisition of Mythic.

1. What does the Gold Rune signify during an event?

Zilo: When you come to the Gold Rune, you’ve reached the end of the event for that week.

2. What if I play on the non-PunkBuster shard and want to play on a shard that has PunkBuster (or vice versa)? Will we have some way to transfer for a limited time?

MrTact: We are actively discussing this issue. Our thinking right now is that we would provide a way for players to transfer their characters in order to play on the PunkBuster-enabled or -disabled ruleset of their choice. There are obviously some complications with that scenario involving Siege and Mugen, but we have plenty of time to work out those details.

3. You said that a possible “Devil’s Island” shard might allow scripting? What about other cheat programs? Does that mean it would be a “free for all” shard with no rules?

MrTact: We have considered making it almost complete anarchy, and writing new Term of Service to allow for at least one shard with fewer rules about third-party programs and other currently restricted gameplay behaviors. However, we haven’t made any firm decisions yet.
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4. I heard that PunkBuster is not very effective against cheats?

Wilki: While there isn’t a method that can guarantee a 100% cheat-free environment, PunkBuster is a tool that will help us eliminate most cheating in the game. Most cheaters in UO download their cheats from public websites on the internet. PunkBuster will prevent these types of cheaters from being able to cheat in UO. While there will be a small number of sophisticated cheaters that will be able to fly under the radar for awhile before they’re found, with the vast majority of cheaters removed from the game, they will be much easier to track down.

5. Is the acquisition of Mythic going to have any impact on UO?

Wilki: The EA Mythic team and the UO Team will remain separate units, so we don’t anticipate any changes to UO or the UO Team due to the acquisition.

The Five on Friday - June 16, 2006, has been posted on UO.com

1. Tell us about the new vet rewards!!!
Wilki: We’re planning to add one new reward for 1st year vets, as well as a reward each for 6th through 9th year vets. For one of the later year rewards, we’re adding a weapon engraving tool, so you can personalize your favorite weapons. More details on the other rewards will be coming soon.

2. Why can’t I buy UO game time cards at retail stores?

Darkscribe: Unfortunately retail space is extremely limited and it’s difficult to keep Game Time cards on store shelves. The vast majority of UO players use credit cards, so there isn’t enough demand at the retail level to justify box distribution. We do sell Game Time codes at www.uogamecodes.com, and you can pay by cash if you wish. We are also working on other payment methods that might be more convenient for you.

3. Can we expect to see any changes made to the artwork for the Cloak of Humility?

Wilki: Our art team has been working to improve the Cloak of Humility. Those changes should go in with Publish 41.

4. Why is it that casting curse on a pet flags you grey, yet discordance, which is ten times worse than curse against pets, doesnt?

MrTact: It should. We will get that written up and fixed.

5. Is there any chance that the individual rewards from the community collections will be made easier to get?

Wilki: Yes! The amount of effort required to obtain these through legitimate means is too great. Once we solve the scripting issue, we’ll then take a look at adjusting these downwards into the reasonable range.

The June 9, 2006 edition of the Five on Friday is up on UO.com. The first question, about the hideous looking duped clothing.

1. My eyes! Are you looking into this sudden influx of garishly colored clothing?

Darkscribe: Ah yes, the dreaded duping bug that creates eye searing hues on some items. We will be fixing that as soon as we’re able.

2. It’s really hard to sneak around these days. Do you have any plans to take a look at stealth vs. passive detect?

Wilki: Definitely. The stealth/hiding/detection system needs to be readjusted so that it’s possible to sneak around other players and monsters without such a high chance of detection. We’ll also look at detect hidden, and the reveal spell as well. We’ve seen some good ideas from the community, so please feel free to comment more on the forums.

3. Occasionally I have noticed that my client has been crashing since Pub40 was released. Is this something that will have to wait until Pub41 to get fixed?

Ando: The QA team has reproduced two separate crashes. The first one involves the targeting system and the Dev team is currently working on a fix for this. The second appears to involve Elven containers, and the QA team is in the process of providing the Dev team with all the information they need to locate the root cause of this issue. The Dev team would like to release a fix for these issues as early as next week if possible.

4. What will Pub41 consist of and when can we expect to see a Pub41 Test Center?

Ando: Since Pub41 will be a fairly small publish, we should be able to get a Test Center up sometime next week. At that time we will be providing details of what the publish will consist of.

5. Are there any possible plans for the 9th anniversary?

Darkscribe: Yes! There will be a new boxed product that we will be announcing shortly that will go on sale in September, just in time for the anniversary. There are a couple remaining details to work out before we can give all the details. This new product will contain not one, but two new housing tile sets, both of which are quite different from anything currently in the game. And no, this anniversary box isn’t the secret that will be revealed when you solve the puzzles surrounding Inu. The spring flowers are still very much in bloom.

Yesterday, a new Five on Friday was posted on UO.com. One of the things that caused all kinds of alarms and fireworks and light bulbs to go off in my head, was this question answered by Darkscribe:

3. Any plans to add content or spruce up existing content in the original lands (Britannia itself)?

Darkscribe: Yes. I will continue to drop hints until someone has to sweep them up. Follow the clues within the in-game story arc involving Inu. Soon, there will be puzzles to solve that will lead players to an amazing revelation. If players don’t reveal the secret, then they’ll hear about it from a press release a couple weeks later, but I’m betting on the players to find it first.

Think about what Darkscribe just said: If players don’t reveal the secret, then they’ll hear about it from a press release a couple weeks later,

PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

I’ve commented in the past on some of the things I think UO needs to do and will do. One of them was a new client. Just about any major forum that has more than 10 UO players, somebody will mention a new client every now and then.

What’s worthy of a press release? This is, after all, an amazing revelation.
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The June 2, 2006 edition of the Five on Friday is online at UO.com Interesting comment from Darkscribe about an amazing revelation that either the players will reveal or their will be a “press release”.

1. Any plans to change or get rid of insurance or maybe even bring something in where everyone has their items blessed?

Darkscribe: No. With all the planning we are doing for so many different things, changing the insurance system is pretty far down the list. If you don’t like insurance, please play on Siege or Mugen. There are plenty of folks there waiting to take your stuff.

2. Do you have any ideas on how we can get more players to play in Felucca?

Darkscribe: Yes. First off, we have to make PvP and combat more balanced and more fun. “One template rules all” or “one set of high-level items rules all” isn’t fun. Also, “one hit, one kill, battle over before you know what happened” isn’t a good experience. So, we want to first fix the core mechanics of PvP. After that, then we’ll deal with the “why PvP?” question.

3. Any plans to add content or spruce up existing content in the original lands (Britannia itself)?

Darkscribe: Yes. I will continue to drop hints until someone has to sweep them up. Follow the clues within the in-game story arc involving Inu. Soon, there will be puzzles to solve that will lead players to an amazing revelation. If players don’t reveal the secret, then they’ll hear about it from a press release a couple weeks later, but I’m betting on the players to find it first.

4. I like some of the changes for PvP in pub 40, but you left in one of the most glaring problems: hit procs like hit lower defense, mana leech, etc. Any plans to address those anytime soon?

MrTact: Yes, we want to look into those, we just ran out of time. My current thought is to scale the amount of the effect based on the speed of the weapon, so a consistent amount of the effect is applied regardless of how fast your weapon is.

5. Got any changes planned in Pub41 for Bushido?

MrTact: Most of the stuff that was originally scheduled for pub 41 has been pushed back to a later date. So, no.