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News
 
  • House Ban and Friend Lists Cleared Feb 11 2003, 06:08 PM
  • Humility Virtue Story Feb 11 2003, 02:30 AM
  • AoS Changes Noted Feb 10 2003, 06:54 PM
  • Pet Summoning Bug -- Warning Feb 6 2003, 10:15 AM
  • Getting Ready for Age of Shadows: Client Patch Feb 5 2003, 09:28 AM
  • Dawn to Appear on Ultima Online Shards Feb 5 2003, 09:27 AM
  • Part I of AoS Fiction Feb 1 2003, 03:50 PM
  • Resistances explained Feb 1 2003, 12:59 PM
  • Enlarging an exisiting house will not be secure Jan 29 2003, 11:08 AM
  • General News Forum Jan 23 2003, 10:13 PM
  •  

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    House Ban and Friend Lists Cleared ^top
     
    In the process of conversion, it was necessary to clear the ban and friend lists of all houses. We regret this last-minute decision, but the alternative is to begin the entire conversion process again on all shards, which we do not feel is a good option.

    We'll keep you informed as we know more, and thank you very much for your patience.
     Posted by Balandar
     Feb 11 2003, 06:08 PM
    Comments: 1
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    Humility Virtue Story ^top
     
    Katrina was a shepherdess, and as far as she was concerned, that word provided a complete description with no further need of qualification. She was beautiful, to be sure, and wise as well, and held the respect of both her peers and those above her station. All this, however, had no bearing on the fact which defined Katrina to Katrina herself (and what other opinion mattered?). She was a shepherdess; she tended her sheep.

    As it happened, the sheep she tended were not her own property, but belonged to a rich noble of the city of Magincia. In return for her service she was provided with a sturdy hut (kept scrupulously clean), and a regular allotment of both mutton and wool, which she could either reserve for her own use or sell in the marketplace.

    I am sure you've heard of the old Magincian nobility, storied as they were for their opulence and splendor. You may be sure no citizen of Magincia would ever condescend to lay a hand on an actual breathing sheep, though they would willingly enough sit down to a hot mutton chop while wearing a fine wool tunic. So Katrina was engaged to see to the unpleasant necessities of the flock's management, and faithfully delivered up to her master the profits of his investment, but her labor.

    Alas, the most refined sense of style is no shield against misfortune, as many a great lord has found out. Another noble, an acquaintance of Katrina's patron, had fallen upon hard times, and saw his family fortune wiped out, through a combination of unwise investment and simple ill luck. So this poor fellow resolved to go to his friend, and trade his last and greatest family heirloom - a magnificent emerald, of unmatched size and luster - for half of Katrina's master's flock. Such a purchase should be sufficient to provide both a present income, and the promise of future increase.

    So he brought the emerald to Katrina's master, who proved eager to make the trade, for owning such a precious object would bring great honor to his house. And the two nobles went out together to divide the flock. Together, they ascended a platform built for that purpose (for no right-minded noble would ever risk treading in sheep's soil), and began to separate the flock, with Katrina dividing the sheep below at their direction.

    At a certain point the bargaining grew heated, and the purchasing noble drew his emerald out of his pouch, and began to discourse on its flawlessness and purity, in an attempt to cajole the other to accede to his wishes. But the fellow's unfortunate luck held true, and while he gestured about, the jewel flew from his hands and down to the floor of the sheepfold, where a half-grown lamb promptly devoured the shiny thing.

    Katrina apologized profusely for this indignity (though it was none of her fault). But she assured the men that there would be no cause to suspend their dealings. "I shall watch this imp most carefully," she assured her master, "and when the stone reappears - as it must in a day or two - I shall clean it scrupulously and deliver it up to you myself."

    The nobles, however, were both horrified at the thought of their treasure undergoing such an indignity, and said that the plan would never do at all.

    "So be it," said Katrina. "If that's your preference I will slaughter the beast today - this very hour - and we'll have the jewel back in your hands presently, though it seems a shame, for I had wanted this lamb as a ram, rather than for mutton."

    But the nobles both agreed that this too was an unacceptable pollution, and after some discussion both men agreed that there was nothing for it but to regard the disgraced gem as forever lost to Magincian society. So the poor noble returned home, ruined and sad, but secure in the knowledge that his dignity remained intact.

    Katrina, who had long since learned the folly of trying to ascribe sense to the requirements of a Magincian's lordly Pride, bedded her sheep for the night, except for the impertinent young ram which she brought to a special stall, and there she watched him most carefully. In due time the course of nature was accomplished, and the gem reappeared into the daylight. Whereupon Katrina took it up with a spade, and washed it vigorously with lye and good clean water. Then she took it to the port, where she found an honest merchant who cared nothing for the gem's recent history, but only for its weight and luster, and he paid her a most goodly price for it. Some of the money Katrina spent on her own practical comforts, and some she gave freely to those whose need was real, but the most part she put away against mischance or infirmity. And so it came to pass that in her Humility, she became the most honored and prosperous shepherd in the whole city.

    The lamb grew up to be a fine ram indeed, and for many years reigned over the flock. He thought himself a very lordly figure, I'll wager, for all that he never knew that he had been, for a time, the richest sheep in all Magincia.

    As for the ruined noble, he was soon forced to sell his mansion to pay his debts, and seek the charity of kinfolk, where he received all the affection that is rightly due to a poor relation steeped in self pity. Today his honored name, which he would not besmirch with an honestly soiled fortune, is not remembered by anyone.
     Posted by Borg
     Feb 11 2003, 02:30 AM
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    AoS Changes Noted ^top
     
    Miscellaneous AoS Changes Feb 10 2003 6:05PM CST
    In many ways, the Age of Shadows expansion promises a “whole new UO.” With such a large number of spotlighted changes coming all at once, we wanted to take a moment to call attention to some of the less obvious happenings and improvements that will also be occurring.

    Adventuring Skills & Activities

    Virtually all combat formulae have changed—some slightly and others quite a bit—to accommodate the new changes and systems.
    The Skill Scrolls of Power will now include scrolls for Chivalry, Focus, Necromancy, Stealing, and Stealth.
    As of AoS, there will no longer be a “stun paralyze” effect. The “Paralyze” special move (both weapon and Wrestling versions) has been converted to impose a “normal” paralyze effect which has a duration of 4 seconds.
    Arms Lore will continue to be used for the Wrestling “Disarm” move, but will no longer give substantial information about items. Players will now be able to see all of an item’s properties in a new menu.
    Gaining in the Parry skill will no longer be limited to using a shield, since you can now parry using weapons (unless your Parry skill is locked, of course).
    Discordance no longer affects a creature’s primary and derived stats. Instead, it applies negative modifiers to some of the new Stat types and Resistances, for the duration of the effect.
    Item Identification is no longer required to reveal item properties, and the future of this skill is being discussed.
    Magic-related Abilities & Activities

    First circle spells are now interruptible. However, spellcasters who have items with the new “faster casting” item property may time their spells to cast even before another spellslinger has the opportunity to interrupt it.
    All spell damage values have changed.
    The Inscription skill will give a slight spell damage bonus. It also still gives benefits to the Reactive Armor, Magic Reflection, and Protection spells.
    It is especially important to note that the Evaluate Intelligence skill now affects spell damage independently of the target’s Resisting Spells skill.
    Resisting Spells skill gain should now be more reliable.
    The Resisting Spells skill may only defend against non-damaging offensive spells (Blood Oath, Clumsy, Corpse Skin, Curse, Feeblemind, Mana Drain, Mana Vampire, Mind Rot, Pain Spike, Paralyze, Poison, Poison Field, and Weaken).
    Protection now has a casting speed penalty, in addition to Physical Resistance and Resisting Spells penalties. However, the “faster casting” item property may be used to offset this penalty.
    Poison Field now deals a poison level based on the poison skill of caster.
    The Mindblast damage calculation formula has changed. Note: Mindblast damage is based on Intelligence and Magery skill, but Evaluate Intelligence skill is not a factor.
    Trapped pouch damage has changed. Note: Users of UO Assist should be cautious, as counting items with UOA may trigger trapped pouches.
    Changes have been made to the Earthquake spell’s line-of-sight check; Earthquake can no longer be cast through walls.
    Blade Spirit and Energy Vortex creatures now have fewer hit points.
    Meditation’s Mana regeneration is no longer less gradually ineffective as you wear “better” armor. It either works fully (while wearing up to leather and “mage armor” items) or doesn’t work at all.
    Armor & Weapon Conversions

    Virtually all weapon & armor stats have changed. This includes their strength requirements (which have increased), damage values, and swing speeds.
    Weapons:
    “Exceptional” weapons gain a 20% bonus to their damage rating (except for Runic weapons, which will only get a 10% bonus).
    Weapon Damage Enchantments:
    “Ruin” becomes 15% damage bonus
    “Might” becomes 20% damage bonus
    “Force” becomes 25% damage bonus
    “Power” becomes 30% damage bonus
    “Vanquishing” becomes 35% damage bonus
    Weapon Accuracy Enchantments:
    “Accurate” becomes 2% hit chance increase
    “Surpassingly” becomes 4% hit chance increase
    “Eminently” becomes 6% hit chance increase
    “Exceedingly” becomes 8% hit chance increase
    “Supremely” becomes 10% hit chance increase
    Weapon Durability Enchantments:
    “Durable” becomes 20% durability bonus
    “Substantial” becomes 50% durability bonus
    “Massive” becomes 70% durability bonus
    “Fortified” becomes 100% durability bonus
    “Indestructible” becomes 120% durability bonus
    Armor:
    Armor Rating (AR) will no longer exist. Instead, there will be five possible intrinsic resistances: Physical, Fire, Cold, Energy, and Poison.
    Armor Durability Enchantments:
    “Durable” becomes 20% durability bonus
    “Substantial” becomes 50% durability bonus
    “Massive” becomes 70% durability bonus
    “Fortified” becomes 100% durability bonus
    “Indestructible” becomes 120% durability bonus
    Armor Defense Enchantments:
    “Defense” becomes self repair 1
    “Guarding” becomes self repair 1 and +1 to all five resistances
    “Hardening” becomes self repair 1 and +2 to all five resistances
    “Fortification” becomes self repair 1 and +3 to all five resistances
    “Invulnerability” becomes self repair 1 and +4 to all five resistances
    Items & Crafting

    Some magic items (ex. glacial staff, vet reward robe & cloak) will have their special properties converted into proper AoS-equivalent properties. Some converted items will seem very similar to the previous versions, others will see significant changes.
    Certain magic items that are not used in the new magic item system will no longer spawn. These include items that incorporate silver and the Clumsy, Feeblemind, Harm, Lightning, Magic Arrow, Mana Drain, Paralyze, and Weaken spells.
    Order & Chaos shields will now be craftable. All players may use them, although Order characters may not use Chaos shields and Chaos characters may not use Order shields.
    Newly-improved Large Bulk Order Deeds will be worth more points.
    Bolas are now stackable and re-usable—they’ll drop at the target’s feet after each use.
    “Newbie” (a.k.a. “valueless”) items will no longer exist in the game. Spellbooks will instead become “blessed” (“no loot/no steal”). Players that wish to ensure any other items stay with them post-death/resurrection should use the Item Insurance option.
    Creatures & NPCs

    Only the prospective owner needs to make a successful loyalty check when transferring a pet. So, if you have a pet you can't control in your stables, you may still trade it to someone who can.
    Pets will no longer drop obey the “drop” command unless they are bonded to their owner.
    To accommodate the new combat system changes, many stats have changed for all pre-and post-AoS creatures—including animals, monsters, and tamed pets. Skill values have changed, elemental resistances & damages have been added, loot has been changed, and hit points were reduced approximately 40%. (Note: Before AoS, damage done against creatures was 2x normal before. Now creatures and humans use the same damage scale.)
    All remaining UO:LBR monsters can now be found spawning in the Yew swamps of Trammel and the entrance to Exodus’ lair in Ilshenar.
    Many NPC shopkeeper prices have changed (for both buying and selling).
    The range limit for buying from and selling to NPCs has been extended.
    Locations & Travel

    All newly-created Necromancer template characters will start in Malas’ city of Umbra. All other newly-created characters (using either the basic profession or advanced character templates) will start in either Trammel’s city of Haven or Malas’ city of Umbra.
    The ability to use Recall and Gate Travel for inter-facet travel between Felucca, Trammel, and Malas is now possible. A player-created Moongate that leads from a non-PvP ruleset to a PvP ruleset will be red-hued and provide an alert to any player attempting to use it.
    Britannian scholars suggest that the ability to use Recall or Gate Travel to exit Ilshenar will be possible in the near future.
     Posted by Borg
     Feb 10 2003, 06:54 PM
    Comments: 3
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    Pet Summoning Bug -- Warning ^top
     
    01/29 - Pet Summoning still bugged
    Since a fellow player posted about this on our forum again today, I want to repeat my warning to all you tamers out there that Crystal Balls of Pet Summoning are still not working as intended. Even though OSI doesn't seem to find it necessary to keep players informed that these summoning balls may delete the pet linked to them, the Game Masters are obviously telling people it's a "known issue" that is being "looked into".

    In a nutshell: As convenient as it may be at times, if you don't want to risk losing a pet to the malfunctioning summoning ball, don't link it to one.
     Posted by Lord Ser Brightblade
     Feb 6 2003, 10:15 AM
    Comments: 0
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    Getting Ready for Age of Shadows: Client Patch ^top
     
    It's time for the Age of Shadows patch! Remember that before Age of Shadows can work, we'll need to release both a patch and a publish. The patch will put the necessary art files and client-side files on your computer, while the publish will allow our servers to run the Age of Shadows code. Patches require a download on your part, while publishes do not.

    The patch is scheduled to go live Wednesday, Feb. 5 at approximately 2:00 PM CST (you can find more info below on what to expect from this patch). The publish will be made live on each shard on the same day UO: Age of Shadows is released in its respective territory.

    Note below that most of the changes in this patch will only affect AoS-enabled servers, which means that they will only be live on servers that have received the Age of Shadows publish.

    This patch contains the following: (for more information about these features, you can read about them here)

    Both 2D and 3D clients

    • New Item Properties System (Only on AoS-enabled servers)
    • House Customization System (Only on AoS-enabled servers)
    • Support for Weapon Abilities System (Only on AoS-enabled servers)
    • New Landmass: Malas (Only on AoS-enabled servers, and only for AoS-upgraded customers)
    • Necromancy System (Only on AoS-enabled servers, and only for AoS-upgraded customers)
    • Chivalry System (Only on AoS-enabled servers, and only for AoS-upgraded customers)
    • New Monsters (Only on AoS-enabled servers, and only for AoS-upgraded
      customers)
    • New Localization Data Format (On ALL servers)


    3D client only
    • The trees will now sway in the wind. (On ALL servers)
    • The terrain in the 3D client has been changed to more closely resemble the terrain of the 2D client. (On ALL servers)
    • 3D client users will now experience colorful motion trails (fondly dubbed "swooples" by the dev team) when they swing weapons. (On ALL servers)

    The current version will become 3.0.8z for both the 2D and 3D clients.

    Known Issues

    There a few minor issues we're aware of in this patch, but since they are not serious gameplay-affecting issues, we didn't feel they warranted holding back the patch. They should be fixed soon, but we want you to be aware just in case you find something a little off.

    • THE NEW WEARABLES FOR 3D ARE NOT BEING RELEASED IN THIS PATCH. (This isn't really a bug with the patch, but we thought we'd answer the question before it was asked.) For those who do not upgrade to Age of Shadows, the new 3D avatar art and wearables will be released in a separate patch after AoS launches. People who upgrade to Age of Shadows will get the new wearables with their AoS installation right away.
    • Magic wands may not correctly display their descriptions in both clients.
    • There is a bug with 3D clients that may cause any pants worn in the legs equipment slot to use the plate mail legs texture.
    • The party manifest may not immediately update to display new members of a party. Pulling a status bar off the new member will fix this.
    • The language tab in the options interface is now empty. This tab will be removed in the future.
    • Some of the stats on the status bars (including damage range, luck, and magic resistances) may not display correctly until your server has received the AoS publish.
    • The 3D paperdoll will now display icons to open the necromancer and paladin books, but these icons won't do anything until your server has received the AoS publish.
    • Other AoS options have been added to the options gump, including House Cache Size, Item Properties Display Mode, and Display Item Properties. These icons won't do anything until your server has received the AoS publish.
    • Some spell descriptions have been changed to reflect the spells' new functionality, but the spells themselves will not change until the AoS publish goes live. This may result in some discrepancies between spell descriptions and effects.


    Patch size

    And last but not least, please note this is a large patch. 2D users can expect to download between 2.5 and 3.5 mb, and 3D users can expect to download between 13 and 17 mb, depending on which version you're currently patching from.

    If you log out or get disconnected after this large patch goes live, you may end up needing to spend a considerable amount of time (depending on your Internet connection speed) patching upon your next attempt to log into UO before you can re-enter the game.

    We recommend that, when this patch goes live, all players (particularly those who play with the 3D client) find a safe place to log out, download the patch, and then log back in to continue playing after receiving the complete patch.

    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\Ultima Online\Patch). This directory should be empty. Any files in this directory should be deleted.
    • If you are unable to connect to the patch server at all, and are using an original (Non-T2A) version of Ultima Online, you may need to update your verinfo file. For details on updating this file, please see the information posted here.
    • 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 our Support Page for technical help at http://support.uo.com.
     Posted by Balandar
     Feb 5 2003, 09:28 AM
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    Dawn to Appear on Ultima Online Shards ^top
     
    Hear ye, hear ye! Let it be known by all loyal citizens that the lady Dawn, rose of Britannia, heart of Sosaria and jewel of Virtue, shall address the populace this coming Wednesday and Thursday!

    If you’ve only heard of Dawn, and want to see her in person, she will be visiting several shards to meet with those who have helped to free Britannia from the clutches of Lord Blackthorn and Exodus. Please understand that she will be appearing on these shards within only a few days, so her time on each will not be long.

    All citizens of Britannia are invited to join her on the shards listed below at the Counselor’s Guild Hall in Serpent’s Hold (Trammel). Moongates to and from the location will be provided from Wednesday through Friday at the Second Bank of Haven, as well as the Sweet Dreams Inn in Britain (Trammel).

    We ask that everyone please be courteous to all attendees, and do not spam text, play music, cast any spells, or bring pets while in the area. Disruption of the activities will not be tolerated.

    Her schedule will be as follows:

    Wednesday, February 5, 2003
    • AOL Legends: 5:00 PM CST (3:00 PM PST, 6:00 PM EST, 11:00 PM GMT, 10:00 AM Thurs AEDT)
    • Chesapeake: 6:00 PM CST (4:00 PM PST, 7:00 PM EST, 12:00 AM Thurs GMT, 11:00 AM Thurs AEDT)
    • Baja: 7:00 PM CST (5:00 PM PST, 8:00 PM EST, 1:00 AM Thurs GMT, 12:00 PM Thurs AEDT)

    Thursday, February 6, 2003
    • Europa: 3:00 PM CST (1:00 PM PST, 4:00 PM EST, 9:00 PM GMT, 8:00 AM Fri AEDT)
    • Siege Perilous: 4:00 PM CST (2:00 PM PST, 5:00 PM EST, 10:00 PM GMT, 9:00 AM Fri AEDT)
    • Oceania: 1:00 AM CST (11:00 PM PST, 2:00 AM EST, 7:00 AM Fri GMT, 6:00 PM Fri AEDT)

    For information on events being held on our Japanese shards, please check our Japanese sister site at http://www.jp.uo.com/. Thanks, and we hope to see you at one of these appearances!
     Posted by Balandar
     Feb 5 2003, 09:27 AM
    Comments: 2
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    Part I of AoS Fiction ^top
     
    Fiction taken from Uo.com and Stratics

    QUOTE
    Part I: The Revival

    "The brightest light can sometimes cast the darkest shadow."
    Gred Tathiraal of the House of Malas, The First Age of Malas

    Through the Gatewater


    The vast oceans of Britannia seemed to stretch out for eternity from where Greyn perched near the top of the ship's mast. The seas around him seemed to be growing ever more turbulent with the coming storms. Dark clouds coated the sky as if the world was underneath an old, worn blanket. Although his grip on the mast was strong, the winds were becoming colder, and the ship was starting to tilt to and fro as the waters angered. Looking down at the deck he could see his brother, Mordin, standing near the bow of the ship, gazing over a map, seemingly impervious to the nearing danger.

    "Mordin! We have to turn back!" Greyn called down. Mordin continued gazing at his map, motionless, save for the dark curls of his hair blowing in the breeze. Greyn wasn't sure if the creaks and groans of the Highwater combined with the winds were drowning out his voice, or if Mordin had just become distracted again.

    "Mordin!!" He bellowed. Still, Mordin did not move. "That fool wouldn't hear an angry dragon coming for him…," Greyn mumbled as he climbed down the mast and dropped to the deck of the ship. "Mordin, help me get the ship turned around. This storm doesn't look like something we want to try and…Mordin?" He stomped his way across the deck and stood in front of his shorter brother, staring down at him. His long, dark hair swirled in the wind behind him like an angry cat's tail, which suited his glare well.

    "Greyn…I think we should go west. We haven't checked west, we need to check west," Mordin said without looking up from his map.

    "I think you should check the sky. We need to head back." Greyn pushed the map down and finally his brother met his gaze. "This storm will have us for supper if we don't try to get out of it now."

    "We haven't looked west yet. Greyn, he could be to the west." Mordin's gaze was strong and sad.

    "We haven't seen him in 2 years, Mordin." Greyn clasped his brother's shoulder. "And if we're not careful we won't ever see him."

    Greyn sighed and looked away. "Maybe we should take some time away from this."

    "What do you mean?" Mordin sounded hurt.

    Greyn slowly paced the deck. "We have been searching for well over a year. I miss father as much as you do but… Mordin, we have to be honest with ourselves. He's probably not going to come back. It wouldn't have taken him so long to come back home."

    "He was an explorer, he could be anywhere." Mordin stared out towards the west.

    Greyn's shoulders slumped. He felt as if he had lived through this conversation hundreds of times. "If we're meant to find him and he's alive…."

    "He's alive."

    "If we're meant to find him, we will. We can't find him if we lose the Highwater with us in it." Mordin's face remained blank. "Help me change course; that storm doesn't look like it's going to go away." Mordin gazed back towards the west once more and then reluctantly began to help his brother.

    For hours they sailed under the dark clouds, trying to escape the embrace of the storms, but more and more the seas tossed the Highwater back and forth with foaming waves that made the ship groan like an aggravated sea creature. The winds grew so fierce that the brothers were forced to close their sails. They clung desperately to the rails of the ship as the water forced their eyes nearly shut.

    "Something is wrong!" Greyn yelled through the winds.

    "Nothing gets past you, does it?!" Mordin roared back.

    "No, the Highwater! Something is wrong with the ship!" Greyn replied, looking around as another wave made the mast creak under the strain. "The ship is moving faster! We closed the sails, but we're moving faster--we're being carried by a current!"
    Through the shower of raindrops, Mordin's eyes grew wide. "Greyn! I think I see where the current is coming from!"

    Greyn looked across the bow of the ship and his face froze. In his shock, he pulled himself forward along the deck and looked across the waters. It was as if the ocean suddenly dropped out of the horizon into nothingness. Through the haze of the storm he could see a great chasm in the seas roaring like a dozen tidal waves. It wasn't until the speeding currents drew the Highwater ever closer that he knew what awaited them.

    He spun around and scrambled his way back to Mordin desperately. "Whirlpool! Hold on as tight as you can, it's a whirlpool! Mordin! Grab onto anything you can and don't let go!!"

    The ship, nothing but a speck in the tempest, rushed towards the whirlpool faster and faster. The Highwater hit the edge of the massive vortex and was jarred hard to its starboard side by the deadly spinning waters, nearly throwing the brothers from the deck. The ship shot faster and faster around the edge of the swirling ocean chasm, building up speed and howling through the winds. Through the piercing rains, Mordin could see the edge of the whirlpool stretching further away as if the boat had fallen from a massive cliff. As the ship fell deeper, darkness folded in around it and covered the vessel, burying it in the black seas. The last thing Mordin heard was the mast snapping into splinters.

    * * *

    It seemed as if ages passed, while nothing existed but the rushing cold. No light or sound, no air or warmth, only a chilling darkness that felt as if it were rushing past. The world was still and quiet, yet in turmoil and twisting. In his mind, Mordin wasn't sure if he was dead or somehow aware of being unconscious; the sensation numbed him, yet he could think through the chaos. Time felt as if it had slipped away, yet he wondered if he was trapped in eternity.

    Shattering through his confusion, a light cracked through the darkness. All at once, he could faintly see that he still held onto the deck of the Highwater as it tumbled through the darkness of the ocean, end over end. The ship appeared to have broken in half and the mast was a jagged stump jutting forth from the remains of the deck. Briefly in the spinning light he caught a glimpse of Greyn, although he could not see if his brother was even alive or dead. The light grew ever brighter as if a crack was breaking open in the darkness and the ship was tumbling towards it. As the remains of the Highwater passed through the fracture of brightness, the light became as the darkness once was, enveloping everything around it and dulling the senses.

    As quickly as it had broken, the light vanished, and Mordin finally succumbed to the blackness.

    * * *

    "I think this one's coming around, Fallah."

    Mordin could feel warmth creeping back into his limbs and light dancing on the other side of his eyelids. He could feel the grit of sand on his face and in his hair. His robes were soaked. As he slowly broke his view of the world open again, he could see a huge barrel of a man leaning over him, smiling. A few paces away, Greyn was beginning to stand with help of a pretty young woman.

    "What…where are we?" Mordin's legs buckled as he tried to stand. The stranger standing over him caught him by the shoulders and helped him to his feet.

    "Easy lad, you're in no hurry," the man said with a deep rumble. "You're lucky to be in one piece after being on such a journey. We get just as many bodies as we do survivors on the shores of Gatewater Lake."

    Greyn stumbled over to Mordin with the help of the young woman and held his brother's head in his hands. "Are you alright? Mordin?"

    "Yes…yes, I think I am," Mordin said dazed, but still smiling slightly at his brother. He turned and looked at the stranger who had awoken him. "Where did we land? Are we far from Trinsic?" Besides the waters, he could see nothing but desert all around them.

    The man looked uneasily at the young woman and then back at Mordin. "Yes lad, I'm afraid Trinsic is very far from this place. My name is Grevel Brandsmen and this is my daughter, Fallah." He gestured to the woman.

    She smiled at the brothers and in a small voice said, "Welcome to Malas."
     Posted by Lord Ser Brightblade
     Feb 1 2003, 03:50 PM
    Comments: 0
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    Resistances explained ^top
     
    Our very own Batir managed to get some information from Hanse regarding upcoming changes to resistance:
    I decided to try getting some info out of Hanse on some of the changes coming up. Here's what I was able to weazel out of him:

    Batir: How is stacking of resistances going to happen? Will wearing a shirt and plate tunic do anything? (Yeah, silly me, I saw hats having resistances and assumed all clothes would)

    Hanse: Resistances are not on clothes. Resistances are on armor, jewelry, and weapons. This gives you a total of 9 slots resistances can be equipped in.

    Armor: Six slots
    Jewelry: Two slots (ring and bracelet...we didn't want to make male characters feel they need to wear necklaces instead of gorgets and earrings)
    Weapon: One slot
    Total: Nine

    Anything you wear is applied to your player object and used for comparison. The exception is stuff that applies to the weapon only (like self repair).

    Batir: A little more clarification on that? Are the numbers added, averaged, weighted average like now, or what?

    Hanse: All pieces of equipment that have resistances total up on the player. They do not average. If you wore a platemail chest with 5% physical resist and a gorget with 3% physical resist, you would have a total of 8% physical resistance.

    Batir: And hit locations?

    Hanse: Hit location was removed for AoS.

    Batir: Okay, and how are these resistances really gonna work?

    Hanse: Resistances are the final word on any damage. They affect all damage types equally. IE: If you have 50% resist, you take half damage from energy bolt damage. It's very simple how it works.

    If I smack you with a 100% physical weapon and you have 50% physical resist, you take half damage.

    Batir: You said clothing doesn't have resistances, but I see the web site shows hats...

    Hanse: You can't wear helmets over hats. Hats are considered armor, now. I know I'm going to look stylish fighting monsters with my feathered magical hat on.

    Batir: So what's the max of any resistance I can have? Will luck and the other modifiers be the same?

    Hanse: We've debated maximum resistances and settled on 70%, I believe. You can exceed that number, but the resistance will only apply up to 70%.

    Luck has a high max. It's around 900 or 1200 or something like that. It has diminishing returns the higher you go, but is very powerful when getting magical items. It only affects items dropped as loot from slain creatures.

    Batir: And how will the Magic Resist skill work with all this?

    Hanse: Magic resist is very valuable. It protects you versus non-damaging spells. I had a lich cast weaken on me for 20 points the other day. It caused my wearables to become unwearable (not strong enough to use). In essence...it knocked my pants off.

    You get seriously wacked if you don't have magic resist in AoS combat.

    Batir: I don't see anything about the Dexterity penalties in any of the screen shots of the armor mouse overs...

    Hanse: Dexterity penalties were removed.Thanks a lot to Batir for gathering this info, and to Hanse for handing it out to us!
     Posted by Martok
     Feb 1 2003, 12:59 PM
    Comments: 1
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    Enlarging an exisiting house will not be secure ^top
     
    Taken from a post made by Greywolfe on the UO.com forums

    QUOTE
    If you are doing an in-place conversion and keeping the old footprint, the process is 100% secure. If you are trying to increase the size of your house's footprint, however, it is necessary to actually pick up your house and replace it. That process is not secure, just as it is not secure at this time.


    So basically if you plan on upping the size of your house better clean it out prior to AoS release so you are prepared or your neighbors might expand and dash your hopes of becoming a land baron.
     Posted by Lord Ser Brightblade
     Jan 29 2003, 11:08 AM
    Comments: 1
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    General News Forum ^top
     
    There is now a new General news forum. Any posts made there will be displayed on the PGoH home page.
     Posted by Balandar
     Jan 23 2003, 10:13 PM
    Comments: 0
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