The Britannia News Network has word of something that should of interest to many: Ricardo will be going on trial very soon.

Britannia Rejoices
Zilo the Scribe Oct 18 2006 5:12PM

The infamous Ricardo, recently captured and secured in the Trinsic jail, shall be brought to trial within a fortnight. Officials plan to move the villain, under heavy guard, to the Court of Truth. Citizens are to be assured, that while Ricardo is known as something of an escape artist, he will find himself outmatched against his new bindings.

Using a specially designed carriage, the Paladins of Trinsic will test their new transport to its limits on this maiden voyage. The mobile cell, crafted of thick oak, and plated with steel, bristles with weapons. The carriage can hold up to 15 occupants, but for its inaugural run, the only unwilling passenger on the manifest is Ricardo.

Seemingly clairvoyant, the good Sheriff of Trinsic, addressed our concerns about Ricardo’s upcoming trip. The mobile prison that shall house him, is not only inescapable, but highly resistant to damage, and fireproof as well. Ricardo has earned a dubious reputation throughout the underworld for his uncanny ability to escape incarceration. The virtuous Paladins of Trinsic seemed inspired by this challenge, and rose valiantly to meet it.

While this reporter passes no judgment on the accused, I feel it is my obligation to express heartfelt gratitude towards our magnanimous legal system. A system championed with heroes like Casca. A system which eternally strives to keep us safe and secure from our lesser brethren.

Citizens make way for this titan of singular purpose. Clear the roads for this juggernaut of justice. Trust in our judicial champions to bring this scoundrel, and all those like him, down low.

This week’s Five on Friday is online at UO.com

A categorized listing of all previous Five on Friday questions can be found here.

October 20, 2006

1. Are you going to make any changes to the Bushido ability Evasion in Publish 43?

John “Wilki” Wilkinson, Community Coordinator: Yes, the following changes will be made in Publish 43:

* Evasion duration will scale with your Bushido skill. Range is 3-6 second duration, with a 2 second bonus if your bushido is above GM and both tactics and anatomy are GM or better
* Evasion parry modifier will scale with your Bushido skill. Range is 16-40%, with a 10% bonus if your bushido is above GM and both tactics and anatomy are GM or better

For more information about Evasion changes and other changes in Publish 43 please check here.

2. I missed out on getting one of those special coins from the Castle rat invasion. Will I have another chance at these?

Sherry the Mouse: *squeak* I think the rats have gone back down into the sewers…

3. Whenever I use stealth, I seem to be passively revealed by other players almost every time. Are there any plans to change that?

John “Wilki” Wilkinson, Community Coordinator: Yes, we’ve made some significant changes to passive detect in Publish 43. We have adjusted passive and targeted detect hidden for both players and monsters so stealthers aren’t as easy to detect. For more information about Stealth changes and other changes in Publish 43 please check here.

4. Are we going to have another Shard of the Dead?

Anne “Silvani” Pitkin, Assistant Producer: We are indeed! Shard of the Dead II will be a wonderfully frightening experience on Halloween. This test shard will be full of spooky fun, with some new surprises. There will be crazy Dev Team appearances and other various forms of insanity.

5. Are we doing anything for Halloween on production shards?

Anne “Silvani” Pitkin, Assistant Producer: Yes, besides Shard of the Dead II, we’ll also have some scary surprises in store for regular shards! The Festival of Fright will be a game wide event on all shards. There will be some special treats given out during this time, however be wary of your local graveyards! This event will last one to two weeks.

From the Update Center at UO.com:

On Thursday, October 19, 2006 at approximately 7:00PM PDT (3:00AM GMT), we will be deploying a publish to the Napa Valley shard.

The update will contain the following changes:

* Turning off Treasures of Tokuno
* Live events update

The remaining shards will have the world wide publish deployed at their normal shard maintenance time tonight.

Bummer about the Treasures of Tokuno being turned off, but here’s hoping they (or something similar) will be turned back on in the future. As for the “live events update”…..

If anybody is wondering why Napa Valley and not Origin, it’s probably because Origin is testing Publish 43.

According to UO.com:

Australia Celebrates Nine Years of Ultima Online

Fans in the Land Down Under will be able to buy the Ultima Online: 9th Anniversary Collection at Electronics Boutique and Games Wizard. The package will be available November 9. Sorry, no online ordering if you live in Oz - you’ll have to head to the store to get it.

So, for those of you paying attention, here’s who can order right now:

USA (Maybe Canada)
Japan
United Kingdom (and soon Germany)
and of course Australia. There maybe others available as well already.

The FYI/Update page at UO.comhas posted this information about the new Client Patch (Version 5.0.5b)

Client Patch 5.0.5b Oct 19 2006 1:10AM GMT (PST +08:00)
On Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at approximately 6:30PM PDT ( October 19 - 1:30AM GMT), we will deploy client patch 5.0.5b.

Details for the patch are as follows:

* Updated look of the Shadow roof tiles
* Crystal and Shadow roof tiles now show up on the radar map
* Added new art to allow the Heritage curtains to open and close
* The Heritage wall torch now animates
* The Heritage wall torches now give off light
* The Heritage trees are no longer bare in Felucca using the 3D client
* The Shadow Banner is now partially hued to allow it to be dyed
* Added new cauldron art for Heritage selection gump
* Fixed a piece of the Crystal Altar that wasn’t added correctly before
* Fixed a Crystal and Shadow door that players couldn’t walk through
* Fixed bug with Shadow arches that was not allowing them to be committed if they stood alone
* Updated text and localization
* Bump version to “5.0.5b”

If patched correctly, your current version will display 5.0.5b 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\EA Games\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.

FYI/UO.com has news of Origin receiving Publish 43 tonight:

On Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at approximately 6:30PM PDT (October 19 - 1:30AM GMT), we will be deploying Publish 43 to the Origin shard.

For the Publish 43 change list, please click here.

We expect the Origin shard to remain offline for approximately one hour.

Official Publish 43 information has been released today.

To read the full list of changes, please see this page.

If you’d like to see our previous page of information we gathered about Publish 43, leading up until now, please see this page.

As expected, it contains the information/changes for the 9th Anniversary Collection, as well as the +5 stat cap bump for accounts older than six months, quite a few PvP/PvM/Combat changes, and changes affecting hiding/stealth.

This is available for testing on Test Center, or as of now, Origin.

The Britannia News Network is reporting an interesting story:

Imperial Proclamation
Imperial Press Oct 18 2006 5:08PM

Take heart, oh those who dwell upon these most glorious of isles. Your Empress has heard you, and seen the work you have wrought in recovering the treasures once lost upon the ocean floor.

Know that the Empress is pleased, and that even though the number of monsters carrying her treasures is dwindling, urges you to continue standing vigilante. The protection of the Empire will rely upon the training and experience you have received in your latest battles. We would that you learn the ways of your enemies, and of your friends, and test yourself often against them.

May peace be with you, but if not, may you find reward in your victories.

From UO.com:

Amazon UK now pre-ordering!

If you live in the UK, you can pre-order the 9th Anniversary Collection at www.amazon.co.uk.

Ordering info for Germany and Australia to come soon. Keep watching www.uo.com for updates!

Once again, it’s time for the Week in Review, from Tuesday, October 10, 2006 through Monday, October 16. If you want to see previous weeks, visit this link. Highlights of the past week include more Kingdom Reborn information (including new screenshots), as well as a return of Sherry the Mouse, a figure familiar to Ultima fans.

General Game News:
Oct 12 (Th): Origin receives publish
Oct 12 (Th): From the pen of Darkscribe
Oct 12 (Th): Halloween Shard coming up
Oct 12 (Th): Client Patch 5.0.5a
Oct 12 (Th): All shards to be published (Oct 13)
Oct 13 (Fr): Five on Friday - October 13, 2006
Oct 13 (Fr): Publish 43: Character Transfer Delay
Oct 14 (Sa): Sherry the Mouse and Megacliloc issues
Oct 16 (Mo): Publish 43: Lots of Notes, Additions, Test Center
Oct 16 (Mo): All Shards to be published (Oct 16/17, 2006)

In-Game Fiction:
Oct 12 (Th): Live Events about to “Get More Serious”
Oct 12 (Th):Design Team is Growing! Leurocian is Back!!
Oct 13 (Fr): Special Event today
Oct 13 (Fr): Castle British under siege
Oct 13 (Fr): Sherry the Mouse makes an appearance at Castle British
Oct 13 (Fr): New Runes on UO.com - October 13, 2006
Oct 14 (Sa): A Heroine’s Welcome Home

Other UO Sites, Utilities
Oct 16 (Mo): House Builder Updated

UO Developers:
Oct 12 (Th):Design Team is Growing! Leurocian is Back!!

Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn
Oct 12 (Th): New Kingdom Reborn Screenshots
Oct 12 (Th): Kingdom Reborn FAQ

Ultima Online: 9th Anniversary Collection:
Oct 11 (Wd): Amazon, etc., information about 9th Anniversary Collection
Oct 11 (Wd): 9th Anniversary Collection and International Ordering