Accuracy Debate Solution?

[Faust]

The term "picking and choosing" has been thrown left and right here on numerous occasions. The shard targets a time frame around the end of the '99 year close to the last patch in that year. The second age was roughly from October '98 all the way up to April '00.

Instead of using a specific date there is the possibility of accurately replicating the entire era as a whole. How can this be done? A simple process called evolution. The shard could record a date when this system begins starting at October 1st '98 when the t2a era began. The date can co-operate with the current date on a day to day basis allowing the server to "evolve" in a sense. The game mechanics in the server code could follow this structure through several checks only allowing specific mechanics to function accordingly to that specific date allowing the entire t2a era to begin and gradually end. Once the process is finished it simply rinses and repeats... The debate of picking and choosing could be wiped out and everyones favorite t2a time frame will happen through the good and bad.

The famous "archer" platemail wearing tank mage will exist, up until the hally mage era kicks in, and onto the era of the dexer, etc... covering all the vast and different fun sub-eras of the t2a era.

What do you think?

[MatronDeWinter]

A w e s o m e

[Daltrey]

Sounds like a coding nightmare, but I think that I would be a huge fan of this idea.

[Batlin]

I doubt it's ever gonna happen but I enjoy the idea .

Anyways, I'd like to point about that the only code we have for 100% is the uodemo code. Based on decompilation of the scripts I have dated the server code to be based on 4/13/98. http://update.uo.com/oldpatch.shtml

Why? Because the acid script contains a check for ranged weapons (the patch note implies there was no check in the previous patch). The next publish from 6/11/98 talks about guild stones being placed where you stand when you place, not where you stand when you type the name. The guildstone script clearly contains code that stores the location before type the name.

Note: the patch from 4/13/98 introduced the poison level 5. Those scripts were brand new and the poisoning scripts even contains a bug which OSI didn't fix until http://update.uo.com/oldupdates/10-1-98.shtml.

Now, I'll not post those scripts. I'll do better, I'll upload the decompiler I wrote including source code. I'll give you (UOSA players) all the scripts and more...

[Derrick]

And the mystery of the wobble llama will be revealed.
Thanks Batlin

[Faust]

Batlin,

I wasn't aware that the repuation system was implemented that early.

The demo utilizes this system as you well know. If I'm not mistaken the reputation patch went in around June '98.

Are you a hundred percent positive?

[Batlin]

The demo utilizes this system as you well know. If I'm not mistaken the reputation patch went in around June '98.

Are you a hundred percent positive?

Nice point you have there. But when I look at the guild stone script I see behaviour : "get location, get name, place stone".

It'll all become more clear when you all have the scripts. 2 see more than 1.

It could be the server code is based on the test center and contain mixtures of the official patches.

[Kraarug]

Thank you Batlin.

[Hoots]

Wow.... all i can say is that is an amazing idea.

Not sure if it is a pipe dream from the coding side or not but that would be very interesting... How could you start over though? I guess you are only talking about actual game mechanics and not physical items?

[Sultani19]

This is a very, very interesting idea. The only reason why I don't see it working is because I don't think people will spend the time building a template that they already know is going to be nerfed and / or changed

[Daltrey]

That's the beauty, though. Since everything would be cyclical, it would be like "Ooh, we're going back to this in a few weeks, I'll be able to bring this character back out!"

It would be a really good way of keeping things fresh for longterm players, the fact that you would continually be retiring characters for a while and dusting off ones that you haven't been using.

It would also be a way of solving the problem of a lack of evolution inherent in a situation where you are trying to replicate a specific era of UO.

[noxmonk]

I think it's an amazing idea, if it's doable. I'm just not sure a lot of people(PvP) would like it though. Having to adapt seems against a lot of players ethos lately.

[Freeza]

This is a very, very interesting idea. The only reason why I don't see it working is because I don't think people will spend the time building a template that they already know is going to be nerfed and / or changed

Not necessarily true. We have three accounts to play around with. Each PVP'er could make that cookie cutter build for each different time.

[Senses]

Sounds like an amazing, impossible dream, almost as amazing and impossible as T2A accuracy as a whole. If you can't replicate a time frame, how would you possiblly replicate several of them, and even if you did somehow manage to do it, you would hear far more about what you had done wrong from week to week than what you had done right. Interesting maybe, but can you really call this an "Accuracy Debate Solution?"

People say they want accuracy, and they might even believe it, but they don't really. They want accuracy with the most minimal annoyance to themselves and their playing time. Every single change is a chip at the general comfortability one feels playing on this server, and its the very reason that large subscription plan games are said to "still be in beta." People don't like to feel they are testing the project for you, even if they really are.

You would be far better off just picking a single date, rather than a whole time frame and saying, this is the cut off, period, whether it benefits the server or not, were sticking to this date. From that point, don't worry about the unknowns, work on all the knowns. There are so many things on this server 100pct absolutely known to be incorrect and yet so often the conversation focuses on 1 or 3 critical pvp related items that noone has any but the vaguest clue on.

And most importantly, so often the conversation on what to change and what not to change hinges on the unifying principle that the server is broken and must be "fixed" at all costs. We need to change the mindset here. The server doesn't require huge overhauls of playing philosophy, it just needs to be steered like a slow moving oceanliner towards Accuracy island. Every change need not be groundbreaking or polarizing. Sometimes its ok to just say, this is close enough.

[Faust]

Doing this through a coding perspective isn't really that much of a nightmare towards how hard it would be to code a project like this in difficulty terms. The only part that is a nightmare is the massive time that it will require to put each condition based on the "saved date" that I mentioned. For example, the RunUO code already checks against expansions like AOS, SE, and ML. There are multiple conditions that check to see if those expansions are turned on. This would use the same technique but based on the time frame that is saved. Here is a prime example using something that we know has changed for certain in early 1999.

Meditation for example could simply be written like this...

Code: Select all

// CurrentTargetDate = The current saved date of the time frame being used.
// DateCheck = February 2nd 1999 10:57am aka the patch listed in Colored ore, granting karma, and combat changes Feb 2 1999 10:57AM at http://wiki.uosecondage.com/index.php?title=1999_Patch_Notes.

if ( CurrentTargetDate >= DateCheck )
{
	Meditation exists;
}
else
{
	Meditation doesn't exist;
}

All the scripts could be addressed in this similar manner with multiple checks for each change. The only tedious part is coding all the check points for each script that currently exists for the server.

I know that something like this is more of a long term goal than it would be short term. However, this could be something to think about when that final day of completing the server to our current target date of ultimate accuracy. I think this final stage would be the ultimate replication in the end though. This is "Ultima Online Second Age" after all and you would think the entire second age era should be covered. Putting a system in place like this eventually would finalize that statement and end a lot of the arguing back and forth giving everyone the t2a experience that they loved the most.

This would put the three accounts that we have in to better use. I saved my Pre:t2a character all the way up until quitting at the UOR era hoping my 7x archer template would be usable one day. A similar approach would be taken with your 3 accounts. People would build character's for each time frame using it when the specific part of the era pops up. Some people may simply retrain certain skills like a combat skill going from swords to archery, etc... There are many different scenarios that could play out. Also, it's a test of time for the people that can master all particular time frames of the t2a era. One person may be great during the archer tank/mage days but he may not be all that great in the swords tank mage part of the era being required to adapt and master that part of the era too.

PS
Senses if you haven't noticed most little things are now issues compared to several months ago indicating that we have finally hit the peak of major issues when it comes to era accuracy. There will eventually be a day when we hit the bottom of that slope.