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.

Think about the timing for a moment. It’s June. Anything that’s announced later this summer, would probably start beta testing in the fall/winter, with a rollout in the Spring. Spring used to be the time to roll out major expansions. Next year, 2007, is the 10th Anniversary.

New lands = amazing revelation? No. Doesn’t cut it at this point. We have too much land as it is. Way too much. Sure, new lands could be worked in, similar to Samurai Empire, but more of the same is not an “amazing revelation”. Still, another expansion with new lands and new content, in UO’s 10th year, is not a good sign, at least a sign of a long-term plan. I mentioned above about a new client, and about how somebody will always raise the prospect/debate over the existing clients, and how UO feels outdated as a result.

Is a new client worthy of a press release and would be “an amazing revelation”? Absolutely. More of the same is not going to bring UO back up to AoS numbers. End of story. Samurai Empire didn’t do it (I have no doubt that SE pulled in a lot of new players, but old players were leaving then as well). Mondain’s Legacy didn’t do it, with tons and tons of new content (including work on existing areas) as well as a new race.

Let’s talk about Mondain’s Legacy for a moment. A lot of work was done that touched many skills and many playstyles. A brand new quest system was implemented, something I’ve been yapping about for a long time to anybody that would listen. Why take the time to build up a true quest system that would be used a few times by veterans and then ignored? New players. New players benefit the most from a brand new quest system.

What’s going to bring new players? Put UO in a box on a shelf in a computer software store (not that such an animal exists any longer :v: ). It’s not going to compete at this point, because about the only thing boxes are good for is showing off graphics. You or I could preach to anybody and everybody about how neat UO is, but many players these days will take one look at UO’s graphics and walk away.

Let’s face it, almost half the market of MMORPG players are playing World of Warcraft, and a significant portion of the rest are playing MMORPGs that are, graphics wise, years ahead of UO (literally and figuratively). A lot of those players are going to get bored with the treadmills that many MMORPGs have become, and UO could pick them up easily, IF, and only IF, UO can get its foot in the door. If you can’t interest this new breed of player, then you are going to keep declining in market share.

New artwork, requiring a new client, changes all of that. Gaming sites would take that press release and run with it, if UO had a new client. You could not have a more appropriate year for UO to have a new client and new artwork, than it’s 10th Anniversary. Period.

I’m not jumping on the :bandwagon: when I say this, or hoping that after the past three-four years of rambling to anybody and everybody about how UO needs a new client, that I finally will be right.

I think it might just happen this time. Darkscribe clearly relishes UO and being the Producer. Darkscribe was in marketing. It would take a marketing guru to sell the EA corporate honchos on a new client, or rather a client done right. There could be some backroom client being developed in some developers’ spare time, but without the artwork revamp, which would take a lot of manpower, it ain’t gonna happen, or at least it won’t be impressive enough. Darkscribe may just be the person to do it.