2 suggestions that will make this shard sparkle

I have two suggestions that I am sure when implemented, will increase the shard population by hundreds or even thousands of players.

-- first of all: Make it a requirement that somebody has to be a girl IRL if they want to make a girl character in the game. It is so so frustrating when you spend hours or even days chatting with some girl character in game, and entertaining fantasies and daydreams, and all. then finally when you get on mumbler together she has a manly voice and is a man IRL! It is so awkward and makes me feel like i am just wasting my time on this shard. This form of griefing has caused a lot of grief to me and I know a lot (most) of other players feel the same.

(many griefers will say "oh come on malt it's just a game." But when it comes to actual human emotions and tears this is not just a game. People who think virtual reality is just a game need to watch or read Sword Art Online . [that changed everything for me and instigated my return to the virtual world])

This change alone would help a lot of players including myself and bring hundred unique IP's.

-- second of all: Remove taming from the game. Now I know lots of you folks who wasted hours making a tamer will ask Why? well, because Taming is really boring. It's not fun when other players just go around Sosaria with a million dragons and Nightmares and kill whatever they want and make 1 million gold a day. Also there are way too many tamers and all the extra pets and dragons are making hard extra lag for the shard.

Taming is also dishonorable, a true warrior should fight with his own body and mind and not force his slaves to take all the risk. Whenever I see a tamer I think of Micheal Vick, and i and many others are tired of it.

If you remove tamers it may seem weird in the begining but after a while everyone will get used to it and the shard will be way funner, and there will be more dexxers and mages looking to PVP and less tamers just wanting to farm 10 million gold and buy neon sandals and a castle.
If this idea seems too drastic than a less drastic alternative would be that people can have a tamer but they have to donate 20 dollars a week to the shard to have a chance to receive an item called "Large Reigns" which are stealable and consumable item that lets you control a dragon or two drakes

I don't think the coding would be difficult for either of these suggestions, in fact I have already written up half of the Run:UO code for the first idea. (It uses C++ I believe) and I will share it with the shard owner and anyone else who wants to help me develop it or has useful ideas.

Thanks everyone



Edit #1 7/5 1:24 PM - Important Considerations of Gender Identity

I know that now a days, especially on more forward thinking shards like this one, a lot of folks are talking about something called "Gender Identity" and about men who are really woman on the inside and vice versa. Well If a woman has to prove she is a woman to make a girl character in the game, I don't want to discriminate against if a man who is really a woman on the inside wants to make a girl character. I feel that as long as a person identifies as female or male then it's ok for them to make a girl character (but of course then all of the characters he or she makes must be female as well to be consistent). The only requirement is that a person, regardless of gender identity, Has to provebeyond reasonable doubt what gender they identify as and that they actually identify as that gender and aren't lying to be a fake girl (or fake guy) to seduce players for profit. (which one player was bragging is way more profitable even than IDOCs)

The only way this could work is that someone who identifies as a different gender will have to prove it by writing a lengthy essay discussing their history with their gender identity, knowledge of gender theory, and a brief general auto-biography and of course how they feel about the opposite sex. This essay will be read by a trained staff (or perhaps we can source-code an artificial intelligence algorithm to test for gender accuracy in the essay. I've already experimented with a few of these on various clouds. tricky but rewarding.)

I humbly volunteer to be one of the analyzers of these gender essays. Many people around me call me a great judge of character, and I feel I have always had a strong insight into the human spirit (especially when looking into the eyes of a fellow human). I also dabble in signature analysis to the point where I can tell if the person has a girl spirit or boys by analyzing the contours of a signature (dotting i with hearts etc).

.

Happy 4th!

Wow

GamersOnly.com?
Now that's a million dollar idea

The Girl character thing IRL thing….Whatever. Im not looking for a GF on UO so I could care less..But i do have both sex characters. My female are is fun because I think female warriors are hot and sexy.

I don't think anyone will disagree that tamers are way to powerful. Heck I have met several tamers in game that say "taming should be nurfed, this is way to easy".

I disagree with removing taming altogether. Maybe weaken dragons a bit and only allow each tamer to have one 1 dragon or two drakes and please make wyverns tamable!

That first suggestion is SO TRUE!

I can't tell you how many times I get one of these "girls" to come meet me irl and it's a dude! I'm like, "Wtf dude? Why do you think I invited you to a fancy Italian restaurant and a movie at my place?" I mean come on.

Then they remind me my chars are all girls too...

Anyway, make that first suggestion a reality please!

If this post isn't a poor attempt at humor then I fear I will offend by stating how ridiculous it is...

Maltman has my vote for new lead coder. Of some shard. Maybe not this shard, but... one of 'em.

You know how much free stuff I give away to female characters only to find out they are really dudes? Oh well, it isn't disgusting anymore it is perfectly fine to sword fight both in and out of game.

LOL

I would venture few available females play Maltman....


This is UO reality....


edit-If this was sarcasm..

Idea one.

"-- first of all: Make it a requirement that somebody has to be a girl IRL if they want to make a girl character in the game. It is so so frustrating when you spend hours or even days chatting with some girl character in game, and entertaining fantasies and daydreams, and all. then finally when you get on mumbler together she has a manly voice and is a man IRL! It is so awkward and makes me feel like i am just wasting my time on this shard. This form of griefing has caused a lot of grief to me and I know a lot (most) of other players feel the same."


LOl, if it is female companionship you seek. Perhaps you should try a venue that offers such.
I am a female in real, all my characters are female. But...I sure don't want anyone hitting on me in game,
or giving me "stuff" just because I am a female. I play UO because I enjoy the game.I like earning my own gold and buying things. Yes, I have accepted gifts from other players, but. I consider these gifts friendship gifts, not because I am female. Nor do I seek any sort of relationship in game,other than in game friends. Several of the women I know who play here, feel the same way.

Do you have any idea how it makes a woman feel when someone says something like you said?

" It is so so frustrating when you spend hours or even days chatting with some girl character in game, and entertaining fantasies and daydreams, and all. then finally when you get on mumbler together she has a manly voice and is a man IRL! It is so awkward and makes me feel like i am just wasting my time on this shard."
You think finding out a female character is a male in real is awkward.. Too bad. What you said goes way beyond awkward. The women who play on this server are not here to fulfill or be objects of your hormonal teenage daydreams or fantasies.

I've played UO since the early days. Most of my male friends tell me they make female characters, because they'd rather look at female bodies in game than male. lol.

Idea 2.
if this idea seems too drastic than a less drastic alternative would be that people can have a tamer but they have to donate 20 dollars a week to the shard to have a chance to receive an item called "Large Reigns" which are stealable and consumable item that lets you control a dragon or two drakes

The owners of this server make it a strict policy that no in game stuff is attainable via real money.
Doesn't matter if you offer them $100.00, the answer would be the same. No.


Westra on Irc.

TL;DR -

I'm a girl gamer and my sole purpose is to fill your fantasies and dreams....now give me all your plats and we can take it further to Facetime, Skype or snapchat..

First of all, let me clear a misunderstanding: The intention of my post was not to be biased or sexist. This problem affects women just as much as men, as I know there must be a lot of women who pose as fake men characters to seduce and get stuff from other women. (I've heard stories from others on IRC and mumbler that have had trouble with a few of these in the past. Griefing hurts us all equally.)

I've never experienced this girl-playing-as-guy problem before. However, This can go the other way too, and I bet a lot of men feel betrayed when they develop a strong brotherhood bond with their best PVP/PK partner who plays a boy character in game, but actually that person turns out to be a girl. It's a betrayal of trust and can cause a lot of confusing emotions, especially when love gets involved in one side or the other (but one still views the other as brother).

Now this is really important, I forgot to put it in the original post:
I know that now a days, especially on more forward thinking shards like this one, a lot of folks are talking about something called "Gender Identity" and about men who are really woman on the inside and vice versa. Well If a woman has to prove she is a woman to make a girl character in the game, I don't want to discriminate against if a man who is really a woman on the inside wants to make a girl character. I feel that as long as a person identifies as female or male then it's ok for them to make a girl character (but of course then all of the characters he or she makes must be female as well to be consistent). The only requirement is that a person, regardless of gender identity, Has to prove beyond reasonable doubt what gender they identify as and that they actually identify as that gender and aren't lying to be a fake girl (or fake guy) to seduce players for profit. (which one player was bragging is way more profitable even than IDOCs)

The only way this could work is that someone who identifies as a different gender will have to prove it by writing a lengthy essay discussing their history with their gender identity, knowledge of gender theory, and a brief general auto-biography and of course how they feel about the opposite sex. This essay will be read by a trained staff (or perhaps we can source-code an artificial intelligence algorithm to test for gender accuracy in the essay. I've already experimented with a few of these on various clouds. tricky but rewarding.)

I humbly volunteer to be one of the analyzers of these gender essays. Many people around me call me a great judge of character, and I feel I have always had a strong insight into the human spirit (especially when looking into the eyes of a fellow human). I also dabble in signature analysis to the point where I can tell if the person has a girl spirit or boys by analyzing the contours of a signature (dotting i with hearts etc).

That last line, holy cow.