You ask and we answer. In the last days our team took the time to address some of the questions that keep coming in. If you have something you want to know about Ultima Online and the team, post your questions on your fansite. All interesting questions will be collected and send to our team, so we can continue to answer them.

Here are the first seven:

1. Would it be possible to convert the older quests to the new Quest system? The older system only allows one quest to be active at a time. (Drachenfels, General Chat)
Mesanna: Are you speaking about the context questions vs the paperdoll quests? I know this is not the answer you want to hear but without looking deeper into the code we can not give a definite answer for this question.

2. Are Harpsichord rolls a permanent or time limited drop? If limited, when will they stop? (popps, Stratics) 
Mesanna: This is a permanent addition to the game, hopefully in the future we can add additional music rolls.

3. Can you mention Fansites by URL in game…. there has been talk in the past you can and then some say you cannot (Rupert Avery, UO Auctions)
Mesanna: Yes, you can advertise any URL in game on your profile as long as it DOES NOT sell any items.

4. There’s a number of items that were introduced with SA that resemble & relate to the other Imbuing crafting ingredients. But they have no current use. Fey Wings, Fur, Horn of Abyssal Inferno, Kepetch Wax, Lodestone, Primeval Lich Dust, Slith Eye, Vile Tentacles, Void Core. Are there plans to make all those items, or some of them usable at one point? (Nystul, Ask the Devs)
Kyronix: We’re always looking for new and creative uses for underutilized ingredients and are currently working on adding some to upcoming content.

5. Hello, I just want to ask a question about Distilling. Are there any plans to expand it so that wines, beers, ales and sake can be made? Thanks (Edward Striker, Ask the Devs)
Mesanna: I will add this to our list of things to do, good suggestion Edward.

6. Is there any plans to make Golems semi “bondable” at some point in time? The big problem with Golems nowadays is that not only are they mostly underpowered, but also that any training put into them is undone when they can die so easily. Another part of the solution, would of course be to lessen the cooldown incurred upon healing the Golem. The cooldown is currently like 30 seconds, which is WAY too long. It should be shortened to something like 10 seconds. (PlayerSkillFTW, Ask the Devs)
Mesanna: We have talked about adding new golens to advanced Tinkering, but we are not going to add another golem to be a training punching bag for Luna.

7. Are there any plans to review getting to and from certain areas of Siege? There are many places on the shard that you cannot gate to from the Ter Mur facet and also from many places in the Tokuno facet, for example to areas around Luna and also areas around Yew and Skara Brae. (When you try, you get a very unhelpful message that says your spell doesn’t seem to work.) The inconsistencies make no sense at all and cause a lot of frustration for newcomers to the shard, especially when they work hard to make enough gold to place a house in an area that looks ideal for housing (because it’s sooooo empty) and then find out that the reason for the emptiness is just plain old bugginess. (Tina Small, Ask the Devs)
Mesanna: Tina we agree, and we are entering a problem report on this today.

That’s all for today, but we are sure you have more questions.

Keep them coming and we’ll see you in the game.

Update 10pm ETD (2am GMT): All shards are available again.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

• 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

Classic Client Patcher Update

• Cliloc Changes

Enhanced Client 4.0.26

• 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.

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.

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!

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.

    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.

We will perform an extended maintenance during the regular downtime of each shard tonight. This will prolong the regular maintenance by about two hours.

Thank you for your support.