I just want to say thanks

[Dartacalus]

I cancelled my original UO account probably 10 years ago. A week ago out of boredom I decided to check out the uo.com website just to see what was going on. I read through some of the articles and news and began growing nostalgic for my long lost friends.

When I got home from work I downloaded the client and reactivated my old account. For the next hour I had a blast going through all the stuff I had in my old inventory and bank box. I had 34k in gold, probably 2k of each reg, a barrel of cure potion, about 50 completed treasure maps, a dozen fresh treasure maps to do, 5 rune books of my favorite mining spots, and hundreds of shovels.

After I finished reliving my memories I really began to notice how much the world had changed. The towns were completely desolate. I encountered two people in Britain, one in Vesper, and I ran around Trinsic for an hour and didn't meet one single player. I noticed right away there were empty house spots and I could easily place a house anywhere I wanted. When I left UO I sold my house on eBay for $100, I couldn't believe I could place one in-game now! It was very depressing to see how few people were on compared to what I remember. (I used to avoid west Brit bank because all the people would choke my dial-up!)

I scanned through a forum and some of the in game chatter, and it seemed like I was reading a WoW post more than a UO post. Everyone wanted to know the best stat/skill mix, what items gave the best bonuses, and how they could make the most l33t character possible. There were so many acronyms being used I couldn't even decipher what was being said. The entire social aspect of the game was lost.

I opened a player's vendor and shopped through some of his items for sale. He was selling deeds that would raise skill caps to 120. I think there was a Magery 120 cap deed for sale priced at 24,000,000 gold. I couldn't believe the inflation. If I wanted to play a game where dungeon running and finding the best item drops were the goal I would load Diablo II. Official UO was dead to me again within 3 hours. I signed back in to the website and cancelled the subscription I just renewed earlier that day.

By sheer luck I found UO Second Age by searching Google for "Ultima Online." When I read the descriptions of the way it worked I thought I might actually begin to enjoy the old game I loved. I downloaded the client and created my first char. Literally within 5 minutes of being logged in I was greeted by another player who recognized I was new and without prompting gave me armor, an outfit, and a small amount of gold to buy regs with. Seeing such generosity and interest in the fellow players hooked me immediately. This is the way UO was meant to be.

So I just want to say thank you. Thank you to the staff running UO Second Age. You provide an environment that can capture the magic of what we all experienced and loved. Thank you to the players; thank you for keeping this game alive, for fostering friendship and camaraderie in each other, and for remembering that there is much more to Ultima than "l33t skillz."

[Pirul]

Welcome to UOSA!!

IRC is another great tool here, be sure to use it. And if you need any help or want any advice, feel free to jump into channel #C^V or #DG and ask away!!

[the bazookas]

...and for remembering that there is much more to Ultima than "l33t skillz."

True, but l33t skillz do add a lot to your experience ... Welcome to the shard!