Account Center Maintenance – 07/19

Kai Schober

18 Jul 2012 10:52:41 EST

We will bring down the Account Center for a short maintenance tomorrow, Thursday July 19th, at 1am EDT (5:00am GMT). During the maintenance you will not be able to change subscription, redeem game codes or transfer characters.

At the moment we anticipate the Account Center to be back online at 5am EDT (9am GMT).

Thank you for your understanding.

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Service outage for Asia/Pacific

Rowland Cox

17 Jul 2012 20:19:01 EST

Greetings,

We’re currently experiencing an issue with our UO servers that is affecting the Asia/Pacific region. We are working to bring them back online as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience

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Hot Fix Notes – 7/13

Kai Schober

13 Jul 2012 15:48:13 EST

We have corrected the following issues on all shards:

Client Update

• Fixed issues related to the Enhanced client being stuck at log in screen

Bug Fixes

• Faction players erroneously entering stat loss has been fixed
• The issue with altered faction items disappearing has been fixed

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Faction Item Warning

Bonnie “Mesanna” Armstrong

12 Jul 2012 15:28:19 EST

Please do not purchase any altered faction items. We are aware of an issue with them and currently working on a fix. There will be an update when the fix is published to all shards.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Mesanna

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Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Announced

Kai Schober

12 Jul 2012 11:02:40 EST

Today BioWare Mythic announced Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, a new product that is going to be part of the Ultima franchise.  Ultima Forever offers a completely new chance to explore the world of Brintannia with action RPG gameplay and enthralling storytelling. It will be available on both PC and iPad, to let you choose across platforms where to play, either solo or with friends. For more information and the opportunity to sign up for beta, visit www.ultimaforever.com.
The Ultima franchise is a fantastic legacy and has always been very important to us. Ultima Online celebrates the 15th anniversary this year, and will continue to evolve and be a home for many players all over the world. The Awakening story arc will unfold more in a direction that might surprise you. The same dedicated team will continue to work on Ultima Online and lead it into the years to come.
We are very excited that we are now able to present you with a two option to live and fight in Sosaria. The rich lore of Ultima will continue to captivate generations, now with Ultima Online and Ultima Forever.

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The Awakening Act VI, Part 2

Kai Schober

12 Jul 2012 10:55:49 EST

Written by the EM Team

    The key was clenched tightly in his hand as he made his way to the ruins that were left of his masters once great castle; the ramparts had been shattered and burned wreckage lay everywhere, but in his mind’s eye it was all still as it had been, and he found his way towards the area he sought. As he approached he could tell that despite the crazed and lunatic nature of the mobs that had destroyed, sacked, and burned his lords home to the ground, none were able to pierce the heavily ensorcelled and locked compartment that he found underneath a pile of blackened stone. After a few moments of effort, the jester managed to clear the debris from the locked door that once lay hidden beneath an ornate rug, now no doubt adorning some peasants floor. Heckles looked to the lock as he lined up the key, and the glowing runes around it shone brightly for a moment before going out as the similarly enchanted key broke down their own magic. With a rough turn, the deadbolt clacked and he pulled the door open, and he descended into the dark depths of the cellar. As his footsteps echoed along the stairs he withdrew a night sight potion and quaffed a bit of it to allow him to see what still lurked in his masters wine cellar.

    His eyes adjusted, but it was just a bit too slowly as the minstrel tripped over an empty bottle. His fall was heralded by the stream of invectives that flew from his lips. His scathing curses did little but echo along the mostly emptied cellar that he’d steadily been doing his best to consume. He dusted himself off and approached the mostly emptied racks until he neared the final row of bottles, stopping to look over the few bottles remaining. There were only a half dozen or so bottles left in this spot, and he noticed that one had a peculiarity to it that drew his attention. He removed the sealed bottle, recognizing it instantly as one of his masters favorite vintages, as his enhanced vision caught a glimpse of something hidden behind it…a small hole that the bottle had concealed. A keyhole, to be precise. With a curiosity that required satiation, he dug the key back out of his pocket and thrust his arm into the crevice that the bottle had once occupied, and turned it as the creak of old and unused hinges strained as the wall rack slowly swung open before him. It took Heckles but a moment to realize what he’d uncovered, and as he walked in he drank the sights instead of the wine he’d initially set out for.

    The room would have sparkled as only the finest gemstones do had there been any source of true light to catch the gleaming golden accents of the hidden vault that lay here. Along with various relics, tomes, and personal mementos of his lord, ensconced within were countless examples of fine jewelry, gold coins, and enchanted armor and weaponry. Most eye-catching to Heckles, however, was the golden strongbox centered upon a small table in the back of the room, a key laying in front of it. As he opened it, he found it filled only with deeds and drawings, papers with the runic language written on them and old experimental spells. Amidst it all were numerous currency markers for very large sums being held by the Britain Bank, and a set of intricate designs that looked to be architectural drawings. Despite his inexperience in the matter, he could recognize the cartographical symbols enough to realize where and what it was that detailed upon it…as well as the cost estimates hand written along it. He recounted the checks that he’d found, and an idea came to his head. Perhaps it had always been his lord’s intention that if he didn’t return, Heckles would find this room and these drawings, and act on them in his stead. And even if not, it would at least be a more fitting use of the area than continuing to let the wreckage sit atop it in ruins.

    A roguish grin played its way across his lips as he did a few brief calculations in his head, thinking to himself. Well, it must also have been my lords intention that there’s enough left over to keep me from that fate worse than death…sobriety.

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Publish 77.0 Comes to All Shards 07/11

Tim Chappell

11 Jul 2012 15:33:11 EST

We are staging the publish to all shards now. European shards will receive the patch today during their normal maintenance cycle.

Here are the publish notes for your reading pleasure:

Publish 77.0.0

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City Loyalty

In addition to assisting to quell the still ongoing unrest throughout Britannia three new ways to gain City Loyalty have been added:

• Participating in Champ Spawns will award City Loyalty to the City you have chosen to declare citizenship to. The more difficult the level of the champ spawn, the more love you will receive.
• Turning in BoDs in a Loyalty City will award love to that City depending on the difficulty of the BoD.
  • New Magincia, Minoc, and Yew are proud to announce the opening of new Smithy and/or Clothier shops to serve the needs of the citizens!
  • You may visit the “Sand in Ya Britches Tailor Hut” and “The Sandy Smith” right next to the Modest Damsel Inn located on the Isle of New Magincia.
  • You may visit the “Tinderbox Smithy” and “The Elves Thimble” located within the center of Yew.
  • You may visit the “Survival Threads” clothier in Eastern Minoc.
• City Trade Ministers have begun accepting a variety of basic resources to assist in rebuilding and providing for the citizenry. City Trade Ministers will accept goods across a variety of Professions including, Lumberjacks, Miners, Hunters, Cooks, Fisherman, Archers, Alchemists, Tamers, and Herders.
  • Trade Ministers can be found at the major shipping hubs within each City. These include the Docks in most Cities, Great Oak Vessels in Yew, and the Stables in Minoc.
  • To donate a single item or stack of items drop them into the crate.
  • To donate a bag of items, drop the bag into the crate. A gump will appear with the quantities of each of the item groups you are donating. Make sure to check your donations, as all donations to the City are final!
  • To donate a tamed or herded animal double click the hitching post and target the animal you wish to donate. A confirmation gump will appear making sure you wish to donate that animal.
  • Double click the Trade Minister NPC to see a full list of items accepted. Basic resources are all that are necessary for donation.

Farspeakers (Improved Communication Crystals)

• 4 Listen Mode Settings – off, public, personal, and spy
• 4 Volume Settings – off, private, dual, and loud
• 4 Output Mode – Normal, Show my name, show sender, show both
• Crafted by Tinkers
• Improved user interface
  • Can link up to 10 speakers
  • Work across subserver lines
  • Rechargeable with gem stones
• Higher maximum number of charges – 5000 max charges or if exceptional 10000 charges

Faction Artifact Changes

• All faction artifacts have their Rank requirement changed to 1
• The price in silver for Faction Artifacts depends on the buyer’s rank:
  • Tier 1 artifacts cost 2,000 silver for Rank 1 players; and 1,000 silver for all higher ranks
  • Tier 2 artifacts cost 8,000 silver for Rank 1 players; 6,000 silver for Rank 2; 4,000 silver for Rank 3; and 2,000 silver for Rank 4 and higher
  • Tier 3 artifacts Cost 18,000 silver for Rank 1 players; 15,000 silver for Rank 2; 12,000 silver for Rank 3; 9,000 silver for Rank 4; 6,000 silver for Rank 5; and 3,000 silver for Rank 6 and higher
  • Tier 4 artifacts cost 32,000 silver for Rank 1 players; 28,000 silver for Rank 2; 24,000 silver for Rank 3; 20,000 silver for Rank 4; 16,000 silver for Rank 5; 12,000 silver for Rank 6; 8,000 silver for Rank 7; 4,000 silver for Rank 8 and higher
  • Tier 5 artifacts cost 50,000 silver for Rank 1 players; 45,000 silver for Rank 2; 40,000 silver for Rank 3; 35,000 silver for Rank 4; 30,000 silver for Rank 5; players; 25,000 silver for Rank 6; 20,000 silver for Rank 7; 15,000 silver for Rank 8; 10,000 silver for Rank 9; and 5,000 silver for Rank 10 players
• All faction artifacts have a maximum lifespan of 30 days
  • The remaining life displays in the item tooltip
  • This lifespan is in real time
• Faction artifacts have a new Item Property: Moonbound
  • Moonbound items are Indestructible when in a Felucca ruleset area. They will frequently repair themselves to maximum durability, and will not lose maximum durability.
  • Moonbound items are Ephemeral when in a Trammel ruleset area. They will lose 1 point of maximum durability per six minutes spent in active combat.
• All existing faction artifacts will convert to this new system with this publish
• Note that faction consumables are not affected by this change

Faction Artifacts for Gargoyles

• The faction reward sellers now sell gargoyle versions of all rewards except: Kasa of the Raj-In, Spirit of the Totem, Hunter’s Headdress, Inquisitor’s Resolution, Stormgrip
• The reward seller will not list any non-alterable artifacts on the menu for Gargoyles
• Gargoyles who purchase faction artifacts receive gargoyle equivalents
• Faction Artifact Alteration
  • Gargoyles may hand faction artifacts to the Faction Reward Vendor. If the artifact can be altered into a Gargoyle version, the item will be altered and returned.
  • In all other cases, the item will be returned un-altered.
  • Special conversions:
    • Fey Leggings (chain pants) alter into Garg plate legs
    • The Robe of Command alters into a standard robe which can be worn by gargoyles

Faction Point Distribution Update:

• Faction kill points will now be distributed based on involvement in faction fighting. Players can earn points through dealing damage, taking damage, and healing damage when opposing faction members successfully kill someone in an opposing faction.
• Points are awarded based on rank of the victim killed:
  • Ranks 1 – 3 are worth 4 points.
  • Ranks 4 – 6 are worth 8 points.
  • Ranks 7 – 9 are worth 12 points.
  • Rank 10 is worth 16 points.
• The amount of kill points taken from the victim is based on their faction rank when killed or 10% of their current points whichever is highest. Players in stat loss will be worth 1 point or 10% of their current points whichever is highest.
• Awarded points are divided between the participating characters in the kill:
  • The killer will receive 40% of awarded points.
  • The remaining 60% of awarded points is divided amongst the killer and all assisters.(Max 4 assisters)
  • Eligible participants will receive 40 silver for each kill.
• The most deficit points any faction member can have is now 12.
• Siege – Faction kill points will now be awarded on all facets in addition to victims receiving stat loss penalty.

Faction Silver Changes

• Containers of Sending will no longer accept silver.
• Silver rewarded for capturing a town sigil has been increased to 750 from 100.
• Silver rewarded for faction kills has been increased to 100 per victim faction rank from 40.
• Silver rewarded for faction trap kills has been increased to 100 from 40.

Bug Fixes

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• Resolved the issue which was causing equipped items, mounts and even backpacks from disappearing in dungeons.
• Fixed the issue involving healers getting looting rights properly.
• Fixed the issue with altering the Quiver of Infinity into Gargoyle Wing Armor
• An adjustment has been made to Cora’s Mana Vamp range
• Prisoners will be deleted after they leave Wrong Dungeon
• The issue with placing 1 tile house addons on the Brit Ship has been fixed
• Sudiva was placed in her permanent home
• Containers of Sending will no longer accept silver.
• Silver rewarded for capturing a town sigil has been increased to 750 from 100.
• Silver rewarded for faction kills per victim faction rank has been increased to 100 from 40.
• Issue with the healers quest resetting was fixed

Classic client 7.0.26

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Classic Client Patcher Update

• Cliloc Changes

Enhanced Client 4.0.26

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• Cliloc Changes
• The “Target by Resource” feature has been fixed and works with Fishing.
• There is now a way for players to reset their enhanced client UI elements (hot-bars, main menu bar, backpack gump location, etc.) to their default location.

 

 

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Save Your Boats

Kai Schober

10 Jul 2012 16:09:54 EST

The authorities want you to know:

If you placed your boat near the place Blackthorn’s old castle was standing, please remove it before tomorrow, Wednesday July 11th, at midnight EDT. If your boat isn’t removed, it might get buried and destroyed in some landscaping works that are about to happen in that area.

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Sticky News Update!

Tim Chappell

3 Jul 2012 15:05:24 EST

It seems the slimes in Britain Sewers are running out of algae to eat! Many of the slimes have been spotted in the swamps south of Destard, near the savages. We must keep these creatures under control!

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The Awakening – Act VI

Kai Schober

2 Jul 2012 13:37:52 EST

Written by the EM Team

The grass beneath his tread was soft, and covered in the morning dew from a sun that was rising in the east. Each step was taken without any specific destination, and there was no greater purpose in these steps beyond wandering; the land was unfamiliar and strange, and there were no clear landmarks to guide the way, and no signs of any sort…so he wandered. His robe dragged along the ground, fraying its edges as he went…but he paid it no heed. Finally at the end of his energy for the moment, he dropped to his knees in the soft grass, and meditated. An answer would come, or a path would be found. As he grew accustomed to the scents and sounds all around him, a new and unfamiliar sound crept to his ears. He drew himself up and brushed grass from his robe, before altering his direction…and headed in the direction of the wail of anguish he’d heard.

It took some time, but eventually he saw a thin wisp of smoke rising in the air; soon after, the smell of cooked meat reached his nose. Thinking to find himself at some sort of gypsy outpost, he was far more confused to hear noises that could only be associated with the sick and dying, and he hastened his pace. He stopped suddenly as he saw a red and white sign affixed to an ankh in front of him. While the ankh served to give him some minor comfort that he was not in completely alien circumstance, the sign brought confusion and curiosity to the forefront.

Quarantine Area! Danger! Entry Prohibited By Order Of Queen Zhah

There was a fence to lend credence to the quarantine order, but the gates were missing, and he found no guard barring his entry. Were it truly this dangerous, would there not be more stringent measures taken? And what of this Zhah, whom the sign ostensibly claimed to be a Queen? It had seemed there was far more to know than he could have imagined.

He was close enough now to hear the coughs and moans of the dying and deathly ill, and looking at the sign once more, he strode brazenly past the fencing, paying the sign no more attention. Perhaps the people here could answer his questions, he thought. It was only to find yet another shock as he approached, to see that what lay before him in the area were naught but gargoyles…and not even gargoyles as he knew them. He observed the strange gargoyles carefully and was already mentally cataloguing their symptoms in his head as best he could, despite his unfamiliarity with them. As he walked through the makeshift camp, he stepped onto finely grained sand and rounded the corner of a building before blanching at the sight before him, and realized that his initial assumption earlier wasn’t too far off about cooked meat. His sight was consumed by a funeral pyre, tended by two healthier looking gargoyles, who even as he watched silently threw another limp body atop it. His jaw set with determination at the sight, and despite his curiosity, he knew what had to be done.

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All initial attempts and conventional remedies had failed him; his magic was equally ineffective in curing these gargoyles of their affliction. It had been…an indeterminable amount of time since he had needed to apply himself in such a manner as this, and certainly even longer since being presented with one that would require his knowledge of alchemy. Still, with as focused as most alchemists had become on only the most basic potions, the archaic way he approached it had opened up new avenues, and he checked over the list he’d come up with. He wasn’t absolutely certain it would work, but he knew it was a better chance than they’d had before. Still, it would be dangerous to gather some of the ingredients, if they could even still be gathered. He was unsure if the Blightborn slimes could even be found, but he was fairly certain that Orcs and Terathans were too hardy to have vanished completely. Add that to sugar and vanilla, which any horticulturist should be able to gather, and a cure should be able to be fashioned.

The problem would be with the disease itself; it seemed to constantly change itself and stop responding to what few treatments they’d already used to stifle it, so that meant that the cure wouldn’t be consistent. It was possible that with different quantities of each ingredient mixed in different fashions, the same ingredients could continue to be effective for some time. He now only found himself with one major problem; being without anyone to assist in finding and gathering the ingredients.

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