What originally brought me to this server was the advertisement of "No Trammel". Trammel, of course, being the replicant world of warm fuzzy feelings, gumdrops, and group hugs. The original appeal of UO, that was lost when Trammel was created on OSI, was the darker side of MMO. That feeling you get when you lose something important, the increased value and attachment you have when you know your hard earnings in a game can be taken away at a whim, the rush of getting away with murder in a game... I see so many people gloat and excited about how this server has no Trammel... but it does... doesn't it?
Yes, my point of view may be skewed by the fact that two of my six characters are thieves, but that doesn't make the point any less valid. The point has recently been brought up that programs such as UOSteam, which is available to everyone, are the equivelent of a cheat or hack. I agree with this, as it is an external program bringing capability and functionality that is not native to the game, making it easier to PVP, speedhack, and more. I however feel that having admin created zones such as "The Docks" is no less of a cheat, and certainly is as carebearish as having a full fledged Trammel.
I understand you want a PVP arena area that is safe for players to spectate battles, so the focus can be on the fight, however if you are disabling all negative acts there, you should also disable trading there. Aspects of the game such as Hiding, Snooping, Stealth, Stealing, PvP functionality in the game that allows players to kill other players, and the fact that the game allows for looting of corpses, criminal,and murder flagging all are as important to the true feeling of UO as crafting, taming, PvM, and roleplaying. The world that is created is supposed to be one of danger as much as it is of wonder.
With proper caution and common sense, there are already plenty of safe ways to trade in the game, without creating Trammel zones like the docks. Players can use private vendors to sell items, use skills such as detecting hidden, tracking, and magery (reveal) to ensure the area around them is clear of thieves and reds. They can bring people to their house with secured doors and trade inside. Most importantly, players can build friendships, trusted allies, and guilds that can assist them in safely trading, or in cases when they do get robbed or PKed, exacting revenge and tracking down the offending player. All this is lost when 60% of valuable items are blessed and safe zones such as the docks are created.
The game was designed with rules in place to allow for balanced play. Committing criminal acts causes you to go gray for 125 seconds from most recent criminal act. During this period, you cannot recall or gate out, anyone can attack, kill, or loot you without retribution, healers will not rez you, and you lose karma and fame. Commiting murder puts you in criminal status, and eventually turns your character "red". During this period anyone can attack, kill, loot you without retribution, as well as you can get stat loss when your head is turned in, and many town NPC's will not assist, trade, or rez you.
My point being, the darker roles in the game are as much a part of UO as the rest, having their own challenges to overcome, and having admin created areas for the oppsoite players is the equivelent of installing a program that puts you in god mode or a player "using an aimbot in Counter-Strike".
Yes, my point of view may be skewed by the fact that two of my six characters are thieves, but that doesn't make the point any less valid. The point has recently been brought up that programs such as UOSteam, which is available to everyone, are the equivelent of a cheat or hack. I agree with this, as it is an external program bringing capability and functionality that is not native to the game, making it easier to PVP, speedhack, and more. I however feel that having admin created zones such as "The Docks" is no less of a cheat, and certainly is as carebearish as having a full fledged Trammel.
I understand you want a PVP arena area that is safe for players to spectate battles, so the focus can be on the fight, however if you are disabling all negative acts there, you should also disable trading there. Aspects of the game such as Hiding, Snooping, Stealth, Stealing, PvP functionality in the game that allows players to kill other players, and the fact that the game allows for looting of corpses, criminal,and murder flagging all are as important to the true feeling of UO as crafting, taming, PvM, and roleplaying. The world that is created is supposed to be one of danger as much as it is of wonder.
With proper caution and common sense, there are already plenty of safe ways to trade in the game, without creating Trammel zones like the docks. Players can use private vendors to sell items, use skills such as detecting hidden, tracking, and magery (reveal) to ensure the area around them is clear of thieves and reds. They can bring people to their house with secured doors and trade inside. Most importantly, players can build friendships, trusted allies, and guilds that can assist them in safely trading, or in cases when they do get robbed or PKed, exacting revenge and tracking down the offending player. All this is lost when 60% of valuable items are blessed and safe zones such as the docks are created.
The game was designed with rules in place to allow for balanced play. Committing criminal acts causes you to go gray for 125 seconds from most recent criminal act. During this period, you cannot recall or gate out, anyone can attack, kill, or loot you without retribution, healers will not rez you, and you lose karma and fame. Commiting murder puts you in criminal status, and eventually turns your character "red". During this period anyone can attack, kill, loot you without retribution, as well as you can get stat loss when your head is turned in, and many town NPC's will not assist, trade, or rez you.
My point being, the darker roles in the game are as much a part of UO as the rest, having their own challenges to overcome, and having admin created areas for the oppsoite players is the equivelent of installing a program that puts you in god mode or a player "using an aimbot in Counter-Strike".
I'm not trolling, I'm being honest. He always keeps one of his chars unhidden in the vicinity of his thief so personally, I just leave the area when I see him anywhere at all; I'm sure I'm not the only one who has learned this hehe
