Wow...if this is true, EA has really sunk the Bismarck...

I can't wait for the latest edition of Saroj.0 to come out so I can see more of these interactions!

I don't think it should be that difficult...maybe I can strap on some rabbit ears or something to liven it up, and I'll have a zany good time folks!

Does anyone remember the queues to get into EQ during the weekends, and the "server is full" messages?  That wasn't even at launch, that was during the average week...

Originally posted by vaultbrain

Originally posted by rmk70

To be honest, I'm always surprised EA hasn't jumped on classic servers yet. Without a doubt they would be full within a week of release of current and returning players. It's simply very easy money for them... and we all know how whorish EA can be, so why not on this?

All they need to do is create a facebook page for classic UO, ramp up the hype, launch it a week later and within a month they'd be raking it. How dumb can these guys be? (rhetorical question)

Its not due to a lack of intelligence on the EA staffs part, its more due to an over abundance of arrogance.

See, they know classic servers would be a huge hit. Hell, they know it would restore UO to its former level of respect amongst the MMO community.

However, it would prove that everything since trammel has been a waste of time. It would prove that LBR, AOS and everything that followed was a complete and utter detriment to the game and that they should have left well enough along, applying simple patches and upgrades where needed, instead of their whoreish attempts at getting in on the mainstream EQ clone trend. They should have left UO the niche game it was, instead of making it into the cheap mainstream knock off it is today.

I've never understood why people put all the blame on EA.  Yeah, they screwed the game up...bad...but OSI began to destroy what was left of the game in an attempt to keep up with every other game on the market, long before EA ever took over.  It is a cheap mainstream knock-off as you mention though.

Part of the appeal to UO that can't be undone now:

-Players were all human, which made the game unique from EQ.  Not anymore.  Now I can be a friggin elf or a gargoyle?  The whole idea of being a human is what made UO.  The avatar was human.  What I never understood, is that most of the players who wanted to be something else would RP as orcs.  Why, in their ultimate wisdom, did they choose elves and gargoyles over what the players were already doing...(well I kind of understand elves, there were a few RP towns with Tolkien elves).

-The player economy was alive.  You would constantly break or lose weapons and armor when you died.  You needed bags of extra armor and weapons in the bank or house.  Most of these were crafted by other players.  Now, they have item insurance and you can keep the stuff when you die.  With this, there is less need for people to buy from players.

-More face to face interaction.  People were always at Brit bank selling stuff, or at the forge to the north repairing stuff.  Now with things like repair deeds, you don't need to talk to players to get stuff repaired.

-More thought was put into your skills, and you had to be careful.  Each character you made was a deliberate result of choice and planning.  Now you can store skills on a stone and be a jack of all trades, swapping out whatever skills you want with whatever characters you want.

-Damage was simple.  You had AR for weapons, and resistance for magic.  Now there's an armor and damage type for everything you can think of.

-People were careful with pets.  Granted...things were crazy before there were pet slots.  As much as I loved dragging out my scaly army to destroy an AW, it was a bit ridiculous.  However, there was always the risk that I could have lost one.  Now, you can resurrect pets and even summon them!  Before, a large part of the player economy was based on taming and selling pets for players.  Whether it was because the player didn't have the taming high enough to get the pet themselves, the pet was too hard for them to obtain, or it was a color they couldn't find...it could be handled by your local tamers.  The limit on the number of pets you could have out at one time put a damper on this.  You would no longer see long lines of pets outside the bank.  With people resurrecting their favorite pets, they no longer needed to buy new ones.

-100% made sense.  I've always hated people who say "give it 110%".  If I had an extra 10% to give, it would mean I was only putting out 90% effort.  100% in a skill meant you were done.  With the introduction of scrolls, you could get past 100%.  WTF.

-Bosses.  Again, WTF.  The game always had harder monsters people would go after, but bosses...

-Balance issues.  So my friend talked me into playing the game again with him a few years back.  I built up my character (quite quickly...which was also strange...) and decided to visit some of the old hunting grounds.  I remembered they were challenging as a melee character, so I was careful.  To my surprise, with the introduction of all these new "special attacks" I was mopping the floor with enemies.  I remember having to leave piles of gold as a tamer, but never on my old melee characters.  I could kill things pretty fast with a vanq but still...it was much slower.  Now it got to the point where the ground was just littered with corpses and it wasn't a challenge...just a blood bath with tons of gold and items.  I figured I'd try out a new area, and it was very different.  Some of the monsters were more challenging, and some were just annoying.  I appreciated the challenge, but was pretty upset that I no longer felt that sense of impending doom while walking into the old world dungeons.

They would have to get rid of a LOT of stuff to bring the old UO feel back.  I mean a ton...

I've only been playing Wurm for a few weeks now.  I went through the stages of anger and loathing towards the constant failures of simple tasks.  I adapted my playstyle to the constant draining of stamina, and the requirements to eat and drink.  Spending the crazy ammount of time to nail every board into my house, I built myself a farm to grow crops in. 

Surprisingly enough, I even figured out prospecting well enough to dig out an iron mine and know exactly what tile the iron vein would be on.  With this, I crafted some weapons and armor, and learned how to effectively kill stronger and stronger animals in the game.

I say all this, so that you will understand that I have actually put some effort into this game.  All things considered, I have to say...WTF?  When I started playing the game, there were sparse monsters.  You could actually roam around and do things.  Evidently, all of this was merely a fluke, because one day I log in and there is a HUGE concentration of aggressive animals and monsters.

In case people have somehow forgotten, Golden Valley is for new players to learn the game.  I could understand it if there were some bears, spiders, and scorpions way out in the far reaches of the island.  What I don't understand, is every time I visit Glitterdale, there is a pile of newbie corpses and the hill is surrounded by monsters that even the experienced players on that server have a hard time killing.

The game is hard enough, without the need to completely snuff out a person trying the game for the first time, by sending a mob of bears and spiders after them as soon as they cross the *magic line* surrounding a starter town.

tl:dr version:

GV is for new players, WTF is up with all the mobs surrounding the areas the players start in?

I hate to tell you, but that picture is old and it's not what your friend told you.  Paris Hilton was doing a signing for some stupid gem or jewel game she was promoting during E3, and Preston got his picture taken with her.  Nothing more.

I used to play Dransik before AE was around.  After I left the game I returned when I saw that the game had expanded into what is now AE.  I used to be a subscriber, but eventually I left the game.  Last week when I found out about the new expansion with ships, I figured I'd log in and walk around, and experience the game a bit before deciding whether I'd re-subscribe.

I logged in and wanted to do a little crafting.  I always liked the game's crafting system.  I soon realized that I couldn't craft because I wasn't a subscriber.  That isn't a real big deal.  I decided to do a little planting to see if I could remember how it worked.  It was cool to get back into the swing of things; planting gave me a chance to remember how to cast spells so I could go out and kill some stuff without getting destroyed.  I noticed that I only got 50% of the experience because I wasn't a subscriber.  Ok, that's pretty annoying but it's not a big deal.  I was deciding whether or not to play the game, so if I did decide to return, I would be subscribing anyway. 

After figuring out how to cast again, I headed out to kill some stuff.  It was a little annoying because there were some lag issues, but the combat routine was pretty easy to remember.  Unfortunately I ended up getting swarmed by a group of monsters and died.  I was lucky because I ran to a location where I could easily retrieve my items after getting killed.  After coming back to life, I went to my tomb stone to collect my items when I was given a message stating that non-subscribers can't pick up items from the ground.  That pretty much made up my mind about the game.  Not only does it lure you into the false pretense that it is free, but they make it glaringly obvious that they are out for money.

I am certain that I could very easily subscribe to the game, and outfit my character again (my items weren't all that good).  What I can't ignore, is the fact that they try and nickle and dime you, and put up a "free game" facade.  I noticed in the shop, that they were selling tickets to enter dungeons.  That is ridiculous.  While I would like to return to the game and play it in it's entirety, for a single price, I will not be forced to shell out money for tickets like an amusement park ride.

I really hope that the people who still play this game can continue to enjoy it.  Do not take my words as "bashing" the game.  I just want the OP to understand why people (like myself) are angry or annoyed at the game and the company that runs it.

SoL was probably the expansion that did it for me.  I was already thinking about leaving the game (not enough time to play it) but adding the Nexus and the Bazaar took a lot away from the game.  The cat people on the moon bothered me as well.

Later my friend tried to get me to return and play with PoP.  That was the last straw.  Everything that I enjoyed from the original game was gone.  People used to trade with each other, travel by boat or by wizard and druid ports...they even changed the graphics of the game.  Now I read about what happened to the game and it's slowly being dismantled into a dumbed down MMO.

People are going to assume he's a troll, because on the official forums all of these topics are common troll fodder.  It sounds like a troll to me, but to answer your questions:

1: Where can I download the 18 gig client before the 22nd?

You can't download it yet.

2: What are the minnimum system specs for playing this open beta in 4 days?

No system specs have been released yet.

3: How do I apply for the open beta? Will I need a key or can anyone with the client enter?

No information on applying for this OB has been released yet.

4: How many servers will there be?

No information has been released, on how many servers or what their names will be.

5: It would take a while to Download the client for me so how long is the beta and when can I begin downloading?

You can't download the client yet.

6: Will the open beta be limited once ingame? Only certain areas open?

No information has been given on this yet.  We will find out when the open beta is released, or somebody says something.

7: Is DF made to take advantage of Dual processors and SLI? Is it DX 10 compatibale?

We haven't been given information about this yet.  When asked about DX10 support, Tasos mentioned:  "The engine has been updated continuously throughout the development and we’re very happy not only with its current performance but also with its potential for future updates."

8: What are the specifications I'd need to run it on max settings?

No information has been released on system specs yet.

9: Will I need to give CC details to play the OB?

You will have to wait and see, when there's more info.

10: If this information hasn't been released when will Aventurine release it?

Probably when they want to.  You will have to wait and see.