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rec.games.computer.ultima.online FAQ
Maintained by Bob Roland (Great Bob, player on many shards)
Created Dec-9-98, last updated Aug. 9th 1999
New aditions:
Change in Dev team
House decay
Reminder to check Stratics first before asking
Send e-mail with corrections or additions to bob@interfold.com
1. Introduction
This FAQ is designed for newcomers to the group
rec.games.computer.Ultima.Online to help you adjust to what is at times
a rather verbose and noisy newgroup...even
by usenet standards. It will hopefully answer many of your questions and
keep you from appearing to be a "troll" to
the regulars.
1.2 Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. Acronyms and Glossary
3. History Of Game
4. Popular Questions
5. Tone and Netiquette
2. Acronyms and Glossary
2.1 Acronyms
AFK -Away from Keyboard
AFAIK -As Far As I Know
BTW -By The Way
DD -Designer Dragon, head of game design, aka Raph Koster
EA -Electronic Arts, publisher of Ultima Online
EQ -Ever Quest, an online competitor
FUBAR -F***ed up Beyond All Recognition
IMHO -In My Humble Opinion
IRL -In Real Life
LB -Lord British
LOL -Laughing Out Loud
NG -News Group
PK -Player Killer, one who kills other players
PLONK -You have been killfiled
PvP -Player Vrs. Player
OSI -Origin Software Incorporated, designers of the game
RL -Real Life
RPG -Role Playing Game
ROTFL -Rolling On The Floor Laughing
SP - Siege Pierlious
WTF -What The Fuck
UO -Ultima Online
2.2 Glossary
Antis -Players who specialize in killing players who kill other
players. Sometimes seen as a "militia", other times seen as a group
of mindless vigilantes. Ethics debated.
Bone -Bone armor. A cheap, disposable armor found on the bodies of monsters.
Known for it's effectiveness, light
weight and it's easy availability. A favorite for those whose participate
in Player vrs. Player combat.
Flagged -The games has a "notoriety" system where a persons name will change
color if they a) do something wrong
or b) have killed enough people to become "red"
Flame -Standard usenet speech for an insult.
Kewl Doods -Also known as "Ke3Wlios" or a variation thereof. A reference
to many of the players on Ultima Online
known for their childish behavior, poor grammar and spelling, use
of alternating capital letters in both their speech
and their names. Also known for fondness of bone armor and death robes.
Killfile -File on your own news reader that lists people (email addresses)
that you wish the news reader to delete
before you see them,very good for the occasional troll.
Mule -A secondary character created for the purpose of raising money or
items for the primary character. As the
combat system calls for more and more specialization of skills, this
is rapidly becoming more of a trend. A person
might have a "tailoring mule" or a "blacksmith mule" for example.
Lurker -A person who reads the NG without participating in the
discussion. Truly a shy and timid creature.
Notos -Notoriety Killers. In the Ultima Online system, a person may be
criminally flagged in such a way that anyone
may kill them without suffering any penalty. Notos do not kill because
the person has done something wrong, as
much as for the simple fact that they can.
Stat Cap -It is only possible to obtain a certain amount of skills. After
you have reached this "cap" you may not gain
in one skill without losing points in another skill. Often this is considered
arbitrary by many who see skills that they
wish to keep decay rather than skills they have no interest in.
Tankmage -A mage character who also has high combat skills, such as swords
or archery (tankarchermage) and
wears heavy plate mail armor. To some this is an offense against the "traditional
mage role" seen in fiction or
traditional RPGS. Since the addition of the "meditation" skill, the
Tankmage has become a seldom sen character.
Troll -A poster who posts a deliberately inflammatory statement in the
hope of provoking the outrage or anger of the
NG. Generally speaking, this person is a lurker.
3. History of the Game
Ultima has one of the richest histories of any other computer game on the
market. In the early eighties Richard
Garriot created the game "Ultima" for the Apple II computer. The series
went on to spawn 8 sequels, with Ultima 9
soon to be released. In 1997 Ultima Online went into the beta stage, then
finally released. The game is continually
updated and changed.
3.1 History In Game
The Ultima saga begins when Lord British enters a moongate on Earth and
discovers himself in a world called
Sossaria. Lord British
eventually unites the land but not before his arch enemy, the Wizard Mondain,
attempts to gain power by a crystal
known as the "gem of power". Lord British calls forth a champion
from earth, called "The Stranger", who may (or
may not depending upon who you listen to!) become known as the Avatar,
and defeats Mondain and shatters the
gem. Unknown to Lord British and the Avatar, each portion of
the gem holds within it an exact copy of Sossaria.
Few people know that they are but one world on a single shard. According
to a book found on all shards, one night
the Timelord visited Lord British and warned him that he must reunite
the shards by returning Sossarians to the
virtues. Lord Blackthorn overheard this and realized that if the shards
were truly reunited, millions of lives would
cease to exist. Lord Blackthorn now fights for "chaos" (virtues decided
upon by the individual) vrs. "order" (the Virtues
considered absolute, and enforced by law).
3.2 History of the news group
Since this is a newsgroup about a particular game, many people will come
and go from our little family. It's inevitable
that any game will eventually become dull to those that play it every day.
What is amazing about Ultima Online is the
length which people remained enthralled with it. Thus, any discussion about
the history of the NG must take into
account that the term "history" is relative at best.
rec.games.computer.ultima.online was created on July 8, 1997.
Originally, there was only RGCUO's "ugly sister"
alt.games.ultima-online. RGCUO also has a history with the group
rec.games.computer.ultima.dragons, a group of
Ultima fans that has been on the internet forever. If you want to
learn the nuances of Ultima lore and history go there
and read the FAQ they put out (good stuff!) http://www.udic.org/faq.html
4. Popular Questions.
Before asking any uestion, make sure to check out
http://uoss.stratics.com/ They're much smarter there, and have the
straight dope.
4.1 Why do all you people whine about PKing?
a. Well, generally speaking the NG does not approve of non consensual combat.
We probably do not reflect the
majority of UO players in this regard. Some of it may have to do with the
NG's demographics. Generally speaking, the
posters in this news group are of an older age group than the average UO
player. We also, as evidenced by the
activity on this group, enjoy interacting with other people on the internet.
Rampant PKing limits social interaction.
That's just a theory. It could just be coincidence. Many of us look for
solutions that will help limit PKing, while others
try to eliminate it all together.
4.2 I'm new to UO. Help me.
a. You got it. Ultima Online is a continual learning experience. As such,
whatever you received in your manual, is at
best incomplete. The best place to go to learn about this game is http://uo.stratics.com/
This site, Stratics, contains information about every monster, every profession,
and the best ways to get started.
Read everything on there, and you'll have a fighting chance. Another good
site to go for news is the UO vault at
http://www.uovault.com/. The wonderful thing about this
game is the amount of work that people put into web pages. If you can't
find anything there, please ask us. We're
pretty damn nice, once you get to know us, and we'll be more than glad
to show you
the ropes.
4.3 Do the people at Origin really read these messages?
a. You betcha. When Raph Koster was heading the Development Team, he used
to post and read here a great deal.
The current "big man" is SunSword who posts here on a regular basis.
His codesginer Toad doesn't post here,
however. Another poster is Carandryl who has the
job of community relations. The relation between our group and the
desginers has not allways been a pleasent one.
4.4 What is this lawsuit I keep hearing about?
a. A while back a UO player named Bunboy and some fellow players
started a lawsuit against OSI claiming that the
game did not live up to it's advertising on the box. (amongst thier claims
was that the game box did not explicitly
state that the player needed an ISP.) One of the most vocal advvocates
of the suit was a poster named "Jag" who
has been notoriously quiet since the suit was settled. It ended up
with OSI agreeing to donate 15,000 dollars to a
computer museum. Who won? You figure it out.
4.5 Will the game ever be ported to the Mac?
a. Let's hope so. There is a protest movement growing of Mac users.
The problem is that Mac users make up only
5% of the game buying market. Is it worth it for OSI? Dunno,
but only time will tell. Perhaps with competition from
Everquest we'll see some changes on this front.
4.6 Who are some of the regulars?
a. This is a question that everyone needs to judge for themselves. The
important thing is to read another persons
posts before you accuse them holding a certain view. If no other posts
appear from that person, do a search on Deja
News to find posts they might have written
months ago.
4.7 Will UO work with Windows NT 4.0?
a. Yes. Numerous people play with no problems reported except, perhaps,
for some sound related problems.
Currently, it is unclear if the game works with Linux. It seems that it
will, but the "second age" (an add-on to the
original UO) does not seem to function properly at this time.
4.8 I haven't played in a while. Is it worth playing?
a. Well, we're all pretty damned biased here. Obviously, we love the game
or we wouldn't be here. If you played in the
Beta version, you will find that the game currently is far less laggy.
In fact, most of the server side lag issues have
been resolved. The game is also more balanced, and there are fewer PKs
than before. (though not a dying breed by
any stretch of the imagination.)
4.9 How do I purchase the game?
a. Ultima Online, the Second Age is currently sold in any retail store.
If not, ask them to order it for you from
Electronic Arts.
4.10 How much does the game cost?
a. Well, the game itself retails between 40-70 dollars, American. The monthly
charge is 10 dollars american per
month. You will need a credit card. The first thirty days is free, and
you may return the game if not satisfied. Another
option is to purchase a "game time" coupon in place of the credit card.
4.11 Why don't they put in a switch so you can't be PKd?
a. This is something that has been "talked to death". If you ever want
to see the verbal equivalent of the civil war, be
sure to bring this subject up. The two contesting views are "PKs by their
very nature inflict their style of game play
upon us. To be fair, put in a switch" and "This will not only ruin the
game mechanics but produce a terrible schism
amongst players that the jerks will be sure to exploit." DD has stated
that he will never put a switch in, so perhaps it
would be best to drop the subject until you've been here a while.
4.12 Where do you go find out about the latest exploit?
a. This group takes a very firm stance against cheating and game exploits.
If you know of a bug, report it to DD. If you
post it here, just describe the result of the bug, not how to accomplish
it. We do not want to hear about it, as it ruins
the game for everyone. We will not even give out the web sites to bug sites.
4.13 Who else is on the desgin team?
a. Faceless is lead programmer. Runesabre is another one. LadyMOI is "minister
of information" for Ultimas in
general.
4.14 What is this about UO II?
a. Your guess is as good as ours. It is assumed that eventually
UO will release a sequel to UO. Rumours are flying
that people have allready been hired. One site I would recomend for
checking the latest scoop is http://xone.net/uo2/
4.15 What is Everquest?
a. EverQuest is the first major competitor that Ultima Online has
faced. Despite the predictions of some, it seems
that the introduction of EQ has revitalized the Multi Player Game world
rather than draw customers away. Although
many long time players have left for EQ, UO has kept a stable player base.
4.16 I hate UO. I quit. I'm going to EverQuest
a. Uh, really not a question, is it? Look, excuse us if we
flame you for a bit, but do you know how many people
come in here with that exact same statement? What exactly do you
hope to acomplish with your post? It's nothing
but noise generation...please take it to an Everquest newsgroup instead.
4.17 So who think EQ is going to.....
a. Please people, please. This is a NG about UO. Talking
about EQ is as relevant as me talking about the lovley
shape of my buttocks. If you feel that it pertains to the discussion,
please include the words [EQ] in the header so
that it is easy to filter out.
4.18 How do I capture a screenshot?
a. Well, one way is to press "Print screen" on your keyboard, than jump
to a program such as Photoshop or Winpaint
and paste the image in. An alternative is to download a screen capture
program.
4.19 What are you going to do if I violate this FAQ?
a. Well, sadly we are not allowed by law to send people over to your house
to break your uninformed kneecaps. We
will however report violations to your ISP if your behavior is unacceptable.
(ie. racial slurs, pyramid schemes, spam,
binaries, etc etc.). It's not that we want to be hard nosed, it's
just that we're trying to keep the free flow of ideas
coming.
4.20 Could you explain this murder count thing?
a. It's a tough one. Here it is in a nutshell; If you kill
5 people you become "red". Anyone can attack you, you can't
go into town and you lose stats if you die and resurect while red.
The murder decays at a rate of 1 every 8 hours.
Now, with the new system there is also a "long term counter". It
decays your kills at a rate of 1 every 40 hours. You
therefore go red, but ONLY suffer stat loss at a rate of 1 every 8 hours.
Confused? Me too. Here's an example.
Player BuTtmunch kills 2 people a day. After 3 days he's now red.
He stops killing. If he dies, he'll suffer stat loss
unless he macros off one kill. Now, assuming he doesn't kill again
he'll remain red for 200 hours, but not suffer stat
loss during that time. There's more. It's called
"ping-ponging". If you go between red and blue states more than 5
times you will be red forever and ever. Want a
tip? Don't PK unless you're willing to live with the consquences.
4.21 How would you like to make money surfing the internet?
a. How would YOU like to lose your account? This is an example
of a commerical message that is in direct violation
of the groups charter and FAQ. I know that the site where you initally
got this piece of internet trash said that it was
legal (and even that claim is dubious) but usenet is not protected by the
free speech laws of the United States. Your
ISP has a "users agreement", occasinally called an "Acceptable use policy"
or something similar, that strictly forbids
this kind of activity. You WILL be reported and you WILL lose your
acount on that ISP.
4.22 What virtues are associatred with what cities?
a. Ah! A seeker of Ultima lore. Each city has a virtue that
is associated with it, and a corresponding profession.
Here is the list:
Compassion- City of Britan. Represented by the bard
Honesty- The city of Moonglow. Represented by the mage
Honor- The city of Trinsic. Represented by the paladin
Humility- The city of New Magencia represented by the Shepard
Justice- The city of Yew. Represented by the Druid
Sacrifice- The city of Minoc. Represented by the tinker
Spirituality- The city of Skara Brae. Represented by the Ranger Valor-
the city of Jhelom. Represented by the fighter.
4.23 How do I get chests to stack?
a. Not easily. You're in for a world of hurt.
Basicly the trick is to drag the chest you want to place to the bottom
of
the pre-existing stack. (I know it doesn't make sense. Did *I* desgin
the client?!). Use the "finger" of your pointer
rather than the chest itself. Drag it to the lower left and let go.
It will take some practice.
4.24 I never cooked before, why do I have cooking skill?
a. The stats you see on your character are
not your real stats! All skills are modified by such stats such as
strength, intelligence or dexterity. For example, your magery might
say "64" but a number of those points come from
your intelligence. On Stratics you can find a skill calculator.
4.25 What is the Siege Pirelious?
a. SP is a shard ment for vetran players,
or if you believe the conspiracy theorists, a shard used to test wacky
dev. team ideas on an unwitting populace. SP gives OSI the opportunity
to explore certaint questions like "What
happens if we were to get rid of recall?" while at the same time giving
vetran players a shard that represents a higher
level of dificulty for the player base.
4.26 Is it a PK shard?
a. If anything, it seems better suited as
a "role playing" shard. PKs suffer sever disadvantages on SP. For
one
thing, magery is very expensive to train in and use. Macroing and
powergaming is more highly enforced. Players
only have one character, so if you cannot have a "mule" to do banking for
you. The lack of recall also keeps PKs
from bringing in reinforcments.
4.27 If a house is greatly in danger of colapse, how long do I have?
a. It depends. Although it should be at least 8 hours before it colapses,
reports have been given that suggest it could
be soon as 4 hours. It can also take up to 48 hours, so if you're
waiting, make sure to free up your scheduel.
5. Tone and Netiquette
5.1 Tone
Although we love to argue here, we ask that you avoid a tone that could
be considered rude. Use proper spelling and
grammar as much as
possible. Don't be pushy. Some of us can get nasty, but please don't add
to it! We all try to get along.
5.2 Netiquette
A. General rule: Don't be a jerk. If you use expletives every other word,
or insult people, people are likely to ignore you
(at least) or flame you (probably).
B. Don't post in all caps. It infers YELLING.
C. Do not post files!! I can't stress this enough. All Binary
files and attachments are looked down upon, and will
porobally get you reported to your ISP. Usenet is ment to be universal,
so allways asume your reader has a no frills
no text news reader.
D. RTFF--Read the Fucking FAQ. The FAQ is a list of questions that are
commonly posted. Any further discussion
would be redundant.
The FAQ ideally will keep you from introducing yourself with an annoying
question. Get off on the right foot! (actually
you can get off on whatever foot you want. It's your foot fetish, not mine.)
E. Questions should be posted only when the FAQ, game manuals, or related
web sites do not contain the
information you need. First look for answers at http://www.owo.com then
at http://uoss.stratics.com
then at http://www.uovault.com only then post
gameplay-questions to the NG
F. KISS--Keep It SHORT, Stupid! Really. Some of us have to load these messages,
so the shorter you post, the
easier our lives.
G. When replying, eliminate all unnecessary material from the quoted message
(e.g. if you're commenting on this
section of the FAQ, you wouldn't need to include the links section, so
delete it), especially the signatures. On this
NG, we often have long sig files containing our "real" name, character
name, character rank, guild affiliation and other
goodies.
H. Don't quote an entire message to make a short reply (i.e. don't quote
75 lines to make a 2 line response).
I. Your signature should be no more than 5 lines long. It CANNOT be significantly
longer (e.g. 15 lines)
J. Reply to posts regarding etiquette (net and otherwise) in private email.
K. Don't respond to trolls. This one is very difficult. Use restraint.
Trolls eventually go away on their own. This is why
god created killfiles, after all.
L. Keep on topic! This newsgroup is about Ultima Online. Please don't post
about the Clinton scandal, your Aunt
Harriet, or why we should convert to your particular religion. My new server
shows over 35,000 different newsgroups.
I'm sure one of those can help you better than we can.
M. Think before creating a new header. Read through previously existing
messages to see if the subject you wish to
bring up is allready under discussion. With the high volume of this NG,
people need to be able to sort messages by
the thread in which they belong. It also makes it harder for someone doing
research on a thread to follow the
discussion. If you must change the header the proper format is "New Subject
(Was Old Subject). Don't worry, plenty
of people will still read your message!
N. No sock puppets. This is impossible to prove, but many of the
idiots on usenet will create another account just so
they can agree with what they had previously posted. This is annoying.
If you are not proud enough to stand up for
what you believe for than usenet is the wrong medium for you.
O. NO HTML. Look, I know you think it's the way of the future and
all us old usenet geezers should change, but look
at it this way. HTML takes up a great deal more bandwidth than plain
text. Perhaps your single post wont bring
usenet down, but if everyone did it, where would we be? Besides,
does it really make a differnce? If you have a
question about how to turn HTML off in your newsreader, send me an e-mail,
I'll be happy to help.
P. No racist slurs. Despite what your limited understanding
of the constitution might imply to you, freedom of
speech does NOT apply on usenet. Any racial, deragatory slur will
be reported to your ISP, and most likley get you
killfiled in the process.
Q. No sales. This is not a commercial forum. Although sales
regarding UO accounts is within the boundries of the
group, selling your dirt bike or Nintendo games is not. Let's not
even get into the realm of pyramid schemes. Once
again, these violations will be reported to your ISP.