Shucky
Novice
One thing that attracts people to UO is the opportunity to create an identity. Skill-based titles such as "Grandmaster Mage" don't say a whole lot about how you've been spending your time lately. I would like to have an additional title based on my recent relative rank in a certain activity. My idea for endgame would be titles that would reset every week, based on relative rank for achievements during the previous week, to reward active play of every kind, including grinding. Examples: players killed, monsters killed, items crafted, skills used. There could be both general and specific rankings. as well as total number and point total rankings. Players could let it default to their highest rank category, or choose the category. It would allow you to communicate your specialty to others who may be seeking out someone with your experience.
Another thing that could improve is realism. You should be able to use anatomy skill on yourself (even at 0 skill) to check your level of thirst, hunger, fatigue, exposure, intoxication and illness. There could be mild to severe effects on stats, skills and health, such that everyone would occasionally drink, eat, dress appropriately (e.g., furs, swamp boots), rest on beds, bedrolls or chairs and take medicine (crafted by alchemists using apparatus from plant extracts). There would be a real need for drinks, food, clothes, beds and bedrolls. Brews could have enough benefit (such as enhancement to strength and resistances) to make their use beneficial in certain situations, and increase the value of cooking skill. Clothing (and jewelry) could effect NPC reaction to you. Eating and drinking could take time, which could be lessened if you carry dinnerware.
If lighting is rendered irrelevant, there could at least be certain spawns for certain times of day, such as NPC pickpockets and muggers who prey on the unwary at night when the guards are less able to stop them, so that the safest places to while away the dark hours would be taverns or inns. In past Ultima games, variations in lighting and the need for light sources were usually very significant.
One way to solve the housing issue would be to introduce property taxes scaled to property size, high enough that inactive players would not be able to hang onto their prime real estate just by logging in once per week. Property should be a reward to active players, not those who got in early and got first dibs on the best spots. While on the topic of land, it should be possible not only to build a house on a plot, but also productive trees, farms and animal pens (to get milk from cows or eggs from chickens, for example).
Where it comes to skills and items, I am in favor of making as many as possible to have desirable and unique uses, and not mere decoration, including items such as plants, utensils, beds, bedrolls, chairs, clothing, jewelry, spyglasses, balances and lab apparatus, and skills such as begging, camping, arms lore, herding and taste identification. Also, there could be special GM achievements for as many skills as possible.
Perhaps there could even be some uses for the body parts lying around, such as constructing undead, possibly by placing the parts on a pentagram or abattoir (with different effects) and casting the appropriate spells such as lightning or summoning. On a related note, should it not be possible to charm some NPCs to become henchman, in addition to hirelings? Using taming or musicianship, or a "leadership" skill, it might also work on all of the monstrous humanoids including ratmen, orcs, lizardmen, ettins, ogres, trolls, terathans, ophidians and titans.
Another thing that could improve is realism. You should be able to use anatomy skill on yourself (even at 0 skill) to check your level of thirst, hunger, fatigue, exposure, intoxication and illness. There could be mild to severe effects on stats, skills and health, such that everyone would occasionally drink, eat, dress appropriately (e.g., furs, swamp boots), rest on beds, bedrolls or chairs and take medicine (crafted by alchemists using apparatus from plant extracts). There would be a real need for drinks, food, clothes, beds and bedrolls. Brews could have enough benefit (such as enhancement to strength and resistances) to make their use beneficial in certain situations, and increase the value of cooking skill. Clothing (and jewelry) could effect NPC reaction to you. Eating and drinking could take time, which could be lessened if you carry dinnerware.
If lighting is rendered irrelevant, there could at least be certain spawns for certain times of day, such as NPC pickpockets and muggers who prey on the unwary at night when the guards are less able to stop them, so that the safest places to while away the dark hours would be taverns or inns. In past Ultima games, variations in lighting and the need for light sources were usually very significant.
One way to solve the housing issue would be to introduce property taxes scaled to property size, high enough that inactive players would not be able to hang onto their prime real estate just by logging in once per week. Property should be a reward to active players, not those who got in early and got first dibs on the best spots. While on the topic of land, it should be possible not only to build a house on a plot, but also productive trees, farms and animal pens (to get milk from cows or eggs from chickens, for example).
Where it comes to skills and items, I am in favor of making as many as possible to have desirable and unique uses, and not mere decoration, including items such as plants, utensils, beds, bedrolls, chairs, clothing, jewelry, spyglasses, balances and lab apparatus, and skills such as begging, camping, arms lore, herding and taste identification. Also, there could be special GM achievements for as many skills as possible.
Perhaps there could even be some uses for the body parts lying around, such as constructing undead, possibly by placing the parts on a pentagram or abattoir (with different effects) and casting the appropriate spells such as lightning or summoning. On a related note, should it not be possible to charm some NPCs to become henchman, in addition to hirelings? Using taming or musicianship, or a "leadership" skill, it might also work on all of the monstrous humanoids including ratmen, orcs, lizardmen, ettins, ogres, trolls, terathans, ophidians and titans.
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