After much thought, we have decided on a change in direction for UO:Genesis. While Genesis will remain a Pre-T2A Shard, we have made a decision that Genesis will become an evolving rather than a non-evolving Shard.
What does this mean?Much of what this really means is still being decided. This is really in the planning phase at this time, but some changes will begin to take place. The full depth of the changes hasn't been fully decided on yet though so much of the plan will be filled in later. For now though, this is what we mean by an evolving Shard:- Genesis will still operate with the goal of recreating the Pre-T2A Era in regards to game-play and mechanics.
- Genesis will begin to evolve and change as time passes. One example of this already exists in the town of Paws. Paws existed in Ultima Lore, but was left out of Ultima Online. We made the decision to include it in our recreation of the Pre-T2A era. You will see more such things over time, for example:
- At least one custom dungeon will be added. This dungeon will respect Ultima Lore and the Pre-T2A Era, but will be unique from any existing dungeons.
- Towns may change over time. For example:
- A stable may be added in Vesper.
- A bank may be added in Cove (or Paws).
- An Inn may be added in Minoc.
- Shops may close down or become something different altogether.
- New Moongate locations, such as Nujelm or Paws may be added (the Moongates will continue to work as they did in the Pre-T2A era though)
- Custom Quests & Events will be added. This was part of the original plan for Genesis, but will become even more of the picture with this change in direction.
- Custom NPC’s may be added. An example of this was the Gypsy Queen that I used for the Quests on the weekend of our crash.
- We will not be importing material from future expansions. Our philosophy, which matches with the back-story for the shard (see the Genesis story in our news section if you haven’t read this), is that Genesis stands apart from all other Shards. Our evolution will thus be unique, but will always respect what the Pre-T2A era represented, such as:
- Thieves will not be nerfed.
- Dread Lords will remain a big part of Genesis.
- No Safe Lands will be added.
- Skill gain will remain difficult, especially for crafting skills.
- The skill base will remain the same, allowing the template flexibility of Pre-T2A Ultima Online
- Some custom areas may be added over time, such as:
- Additional Forts
- Unique Dungeons or cave areas
- A combat arena (this is already built as an add-on, we just haven’t decided where it will end up).
- Small Islands
- Unused areas and buildings may have a purpose in the future, such as:
- Ruins throughout the lands may be haunted (some are already)
- Unused buildings in towns may start to be used
- The Yew Crypts will eventually have a unique redecoration and spawn.
Basically we are changing from our old philosophy of shooting for 100% recreation of OSI’s version of Pre-T2A Ultima Online in all ways to a new philosophy of creating a fun, evolving and unique world while also recreating the mechanics & game-play of Pre-T2A Ultima Online.
This evolution has already begun (technically it began when Paws was created) and will continue over time. The Shard will constantly evolve and change.
Some of this change will be based on the wishes of our player base, but a lot of it will come from our own plans. We will be creating a new section on the forums for suggestions, BUT every decision to implement something new will be made with respect to the Pre-T2A era and will be given careful thought regardless of how popular it is (or isn't) with the player base.
When we started this project, this wasn’t what we had in mind. Our goal was for a total recreation of OSI’s Pre-T2A Ultima Online. As many of you know, another Shard exists with that same goal. The player base interested in such a Shard is limited and we feel (as does the staff of this other Shard) that this player base is too small to be split.
Our hope is that with this change, we will now attract a unique player base. One of the major complaints about the Pre-T2A era is that it is very limited. Many players who are attracted to the Wild West feel of the era refuse to play in this era because of the limitations. We feel that this change in direction addresses that complaint and will hopefully open the doors to a larger player base.
The Staff at Genesis remains committed to providing the best possible recreation of the mechanics of the Pre-T2A era as possible. We have simply added a new level to that commitment.
Should you wish to play a shard that seeks to fully recreate OSI Pre-T2A Ultima Online, then an option exists for you, which was really our intention to begin with. We had saw that there was a group of people out there who wanted to experience the best UO era again and wanted them to have the opportunity to do so. We feel confident that this opportunity exists elsewhere now so our focus can change.
Should you instead seek to experience all that Pre-T2A Ultima Online had to offer along with some new twists to make things interesting, Genesis will be the Shard you have been looking for.
Look for some exciting announcements and changes in the near future!
