Big news - the UO dev team is growing by two people (sort of). Wilki is set to become a designer, and two “new” community people are coming into the UO fold (one appears to be new to EA Mythic, the other has been around for a while and has a good reputation with Dark Age of Camelot players).

From Update.UO.com:

I take great pleasure in the being the first to welcome our new Ultima Online Community Team - Sanya Thomas, who is our new Director of Community, and Jeremy Dalberg, who will be taking over the role of Community Coordinator. Over the next few weeks, I will be handing over the reins as I transition to a new position: UO Designer. I’m honored to be given the opportunity to join the storied ranks of developers who have contributed to this great game over the years, and I’m looking forward to working even more closely with everyone on this extremely talented and passionate UO Dev Team.

Finally, I’d like to thank you, the fans, for being so passionate about Ultima Online. It’s been my pleasure to serve you over the past two years. Long Live UO!

You can read Wilki’s farewell (as a community relations person) post at Stratics.

The sort-of-new members explain their roles in this Stratics thread:

I’m Sanya. I’m Mythic’s community weenie. Well, EA Mythic, which is actually how I got here in front of you today. Long story, one for another time.

MMO community work is what I love best. If you ever see me move to development like that crazy Wilki, it’s because someone tripled my salary and gave me access to naked grape-peeling dancing boys who bring me slushies on the hour, every hour. I’ve been doing this for five years, and the main thing I’ve learned (besides “consume frozen drinks slowly”) is when to shut up and leave things to the experts.

In the case of you guys, I’m going to let Jeremy (intro to follow in the next post) do the lurking and the posting, for the most part. She has been playing UO since launch, and loves this game the way I love Dark Age of Camelot. I’ll be advocating for you in the big picture, but Jeremy will actually be at development meetings representing you.

We have some stuff planned, tools for feedback, and things to celebrate you as individuals and as guilds. But this thread is about saying hello, and sniffing each other like deranged beagles. Tomorrow, we’ll start the real conversation.

Sanya M. Thomas
Director of Community Relations
(That isn’t as dirty as it sounds.)
EA Mythic

I’m Jeremy Dalberg, and I’m taking over Wilki’s spot as Community Coordinator for UO. (Wilki is Ascending to Dev status - see his post here.

Bit of background - I have been playing UO since December of ‘97, and actually moved to Austin to try to get a job at Origin several years ago. (Right before they moved to Cali - my timing ain’t so hot). Instead, I got started in Community in the music business - running a street team and band/label website for a tiny indy in Austin. Went from there to NCsoft, where I worked on just about all of their games, and when word came around that there was a spot on UO… well, I jumped at it.

This is a really exciting time for Britannia, and I’m thrilled beyond words to be able to be a part of it. I know that sounds horribly cheesy, but… well, it really does feel like I’m coming home.

E. Jeremy Dalberg
UO Community Coordinator
EA Mythic