Newsletter # 3

[CharGar]

Publish 93

With Publish 92 out the door we are working on Publish 93.  I would like to share a few features we are putting into 93 that I am sure everyone will really enjoy.

First we are putting an in game store for in game items.  You will be able to go to the Origin store to buy a currency used only in game  Sovereign. You will no longer be sent a code to put in game, you will be able to purchase in game only items from a gump on your paperdoll and have it placed into your backpack.  You will be able to purchase more than one item at a time now and as many as you want.  Woot!

We are will be adding another exciting new quest challenge with new artifacts and rewards for your enjoyment.

I would like to inform everyone of a change the Origin store has made. Depending on how many items you have purchased it could take up to 72 hours before Origin sends you your codes.  This is due increased fraud protection.  If you do not get your code within that time period please contact myself or support@ultimaonline.com.  You can also contact Origin and talk to their help line for assistance.

Its my honor to announce the first newsletter contest.  We are going to do a Spring Time Screenshot contest.  Anything that reminds you of spring.  In the subject please have the words Spring Time Contest.  We are going to give you a week to sign up before the contest starts so please make sure you do so now!  You have the chose of One of the prizes below, there will be 10 winners picked by the UO Team. Contest will begin March 14th and end April 18th.  At that time we will verify all accounts that are available and announce the winners by April 30th.  The 10 winners will get an email from me to pick your prize and give me additional information at that time.  No entries will be valid before March 14th so please do not post your screenshots until that date. Post your screenshots of what Spring means to you here.

Rules:
1. You are able to have one entry per person.
2.  You must be signed up for the newsletter to win.
3.  Must have an active account
4.  Must be signed up for the newsletter

Prizes:

1 of 3 house plots available in SA.  Mizuho the human housing, Asuka the Gargoyle housing, or Arirang the human housing.
1 of 2 Tee Shirts available
1 copy of the 15th anniversary lithograph.

   



 



The Valley of One  & The Great War


   In Publish 92 Britannians were given a bold quest by Lord Blackthorn, King of Britannia, to unite the Tribes of Eodon against a growing Myrmidex threat.  As the Myrmidex have grown increasingly brazen in their attacks against those adventuring in the Valley of Eodon, the Time Lord saw fit to call upon his Highness to act.  With much courage, many Britannians answered the call and their dedication to earning the trust of the native Eodonian peoples was tested. In the untamed jungles of Eodon A Great Ape and a towering T-Rex were bested in combat.  Britannians showed love in protecting the most vulnerable of a species â€" seeing fit to defend Dragon Turtle hatchlings and Tiger Cubs from trappers and poachers with sinister motives in mind.  Never shying from a challenge, Britannians boldly ventured deep inside an active volcano to obtain precious rocks held sacred by a tribe.
With the new found trust of the Eodonians the time to act is now!  Acting on orders from King Blackthorn, Sir Geoffrey has begun preparations for an all-out assault against the Myrmidex and their Barrabian zealots.  A great battle is upon us…the Myrmidex and the Barrab versus Sir Geoffrey and the other Tribes of Eodon.  Where will you side in this fight?  Take a stand and find out where this great conflict will lead us in Publish 93! 



 








Perspective & UO: A History

A common misperception is that UO uses Isometric projection.  In reality, UO uses Oblique projection.  The Grid that all objects are placed on in game is composed of equilateral squares, meaning that all the angles of the squares, or tiles, are 90 degrees â€" Isometric tiles would have angles at the top and bottom of the tiles that would measure 120 degrees each, and the left and right corners would both measure 60 degrees.  Since all tiles have 90 degree angles, this means that there is no vanishing point, therefore UO does not have any perspective.  Let’s look at the floor tiles, they look like a square that has been turned 45 degrees.  Even though it’s turned, it looks like you are looking straight down on it.  This means that if you have a circular fountain, the top of the fountain would be a perfect circle.  You can see this principle in the Red and Yellow Circles in the fountain picture.  By drawing a perfect circle, all four corners (red circle) of the tile as well as all edges (yellow circles) can be connected.  Nearly all of the old UO artwork was done in 2d paint programs.  In doing art this way, it was easy for artists to skew perspective for the benefit of aesthetic quality.  While this was great for the time, now all assets are created in modern 3D modeling tools.  There is often debate how the “new” art doesn’t fit with the “proper” UO perspective.  It is important to keep in mind that comparing modern 3D assets (which are natively correct) to the hand drawn assets of old is like comparing apples to oranges since the hand drawn assets are no guide to draw from.  Often the fountain is used to demonstrate how the “new” perspective is off, however, if you look at the Green and Pink circles you can see that not only do they not follow the perspective as defined by the floor tiles, they don’t even follow the perspective of each other!  The basin at the top is skewed more than the bottom basin.  So this object doesn’t even adhere to its own perspective!  We understand that many feel very strongly about this topic.  When we can, our artists will update, through hand drawn alterations to the pixel art, a more aesthetically pleasing perspective that matches some of the older assets.  This becomes more difficult as the complexity of the individual asset increases, especially so when animations are involved.  We are both committed to the special feel of the original Ultima Online artwork, but also to making sure we continue to provide modern assets that enhance the immersion of the game’s content while pushing the envelope on what has been done before.




 



 




Common Customer Service Issues

We are posting new video and directions for the tasks that seem to give players the most problems under the Support page so please check them out the next time you have difficulty.  These break down step by step with pictures:

1. Creating an Ultima Online Account for the First Time:

2. The 2nd Step will be create an account with Broadsword / EAMythic

3. Payment Options

This was written by one of our players that have helped many of you to understand these processes.  We will continue adding to this each month till we have everything detailed that you need to know to navigate your account/s.

   



 




Question & Answer Corner

Upcoming Quality of Life Changes
We often hear from players during our Meet & Greets requests for minor changes that make certain aspects of the game better from a “quality of life” perspective.  We had hoped to get to more of these in Publish 92, but had to move some of them to Publish 93.  In Publish 93 you can look forward to the following Quality of Life changes including, •A “granite only” option for mining
•Stackable “Powder of Fortification”
•Additional QoL changes we are going to do…

1. Why are house addons breaking when I axe them?

Addons will break due to the fact they are placed on pavers or goza mats that are raised up off the ground.  When you axe them they will not give you a deed.

2. Can you give out grass and snow tiles again?

Yes we will add them to the xmas gifts this year if you want to pick those.

3.  Can we get the skull rugs give us different facets than the one its placed in?

Yes its possible but we need time to look into this.

4.  Why can't you increase the window size in the classic client?

When we first investigated this it was discovered by increasing the classic client window size it become a performance issue and visually unacceptable. Since it has been several years we are willing to look at this issue again to see if anything can be done.