New Nostalgic User... "ME"

[Makaar]

Ok, I'm going to probably get flamed to no end for something in this post, but hear me out!

I am a player from long, long ago when UO was cool. I'm talking about Pre-T2A mostly, but I kept on until they added ridable beetles, then I called it quits once and for all. A lot of the newer stuff they have added is somewhat cool, but I want to capture the old feel. No 3D looking players, the ability to attack people in town and possibly kill them, talking NPCs, cutting up corses into pieces...all the good old stuff that made this game great. I don't mind Ilshenar and some of the newer enemies, but I'm looking for the old game in its core.

I have little to know knowledge on programming or writing scripts and all that jazz, I can follow instructions, though...so that's why I've come here. I used emulators before, but they were all very difficult in their earlier stages, so I just gave up. UO has come a long way and I've heard very good things about RunUO. My goal is to possibly make everything on my shard playable off of my computer, rather than a dedicated server. My friends and I want to be able to play this game whenever we want, so is there any way for this to happen:

1. Have all of us (just in our home town) be admins so say if one of us wasn't on, the game could continue to play when we wanted to?
2. Since none of us can afford a dedicated server, is it possible to run it off of our computers?
3. With that being said, is there a way to have the installation files (minus the UO installation cd) for our shard put on a dvd-r or cd-r? That way we can just install on all of our computers and pick up and play at any time.

Finally (I'm almost done!), I want to create new monsters and weapons...nothing INCREDIBLY new, just different hued with different names/stats. That's all. If I can have all of this, I will be incredibly happy. I miss the good UO, and I don't want to jump on a free shard, as all we want to do is play by ourselves, have a little creative freedom, and make some events for us to play.

My real question is....is this possible?? Am I dreaming? I've waited many years for a day when I could play UO in its glory days. Can someone point me to a walkthrough for this kind of stuff? ANY help at all would put my restless mind at ease. I'm seriously missing the good days when MMO's were new and the rules were free. Thank you for reading this, hope I'm not asking for a lot!

I'm 24 btw. Just work a lot and trying to raise a kid, so not a lot of time to learn from scratch. Thnx

[LowCastle]

1. Have all of us (just in our home town) be admins so say if one of us wasn't on, the game could continue to play when we wanted to?

You can have as many admins as you like.

2. Since none of us can afford a dedicated server, is it possible to run it off of our computers?

That is going to depend on your computer and Internet connection. If you have a high speed connection and a P4 or better computer with 500MB of RAM or better, you can host a server. (If you are going to play on the same computer that is hosting the server --not recommended-- you'll need even more RAM). Since you are wanting to host an "old style" shard for a few people you won't be spawning the Ilshenar/Tokuno/Malas maps so your CPU load won't be as bad.

3. With that being said, is there a way to have the installation files (minus the UO installation cd) for our shard put on a dvd-r or cd-r? That way we can just install on all of our computers and pick up and play at any time.

Yes, this is possible. You just copy the entire RunUO folder to a CD and transfer it to the other computer. You may need to modify the serverlist.cs for each computer and connecting to each computer will be different especially if some are behind routers. Once the server is set up on each computer, only the contents of the Saves folder would have to be transfered between computers to update them.

What you are wanting to do is possible. I hope my explanations were clear. Making an old school server is going to take some time and you will have to learn how to modify some scripts. You can get a basic Pre-AOS setup with very little work, and Person had a Pre-Ren package available here. Making it Pre-T2A will require many little modifications. Tackle them one at a time and eventually you'll have your dream server.

I suggest you use the search feature a lot. There are FAQs and sticky threads about many helpful topics. Have fun, and good luck with your new shard.

[Makaar]

Thanks a lot...althoug I'm not fond of the fact that I have to learn scripting, I appreciate your vote of confidence. I really didn't expect you to tell me it was possible at all...

Me and my friend are going to start trying to mess around with the stuff and make things how we used to. Thanks a lot!

[Captain The First]

Side note:

If you're only interested in making some basic items (weapons/armor etc.) and basic mobiles you can use the mobile item generators that can be found on these forums.

That way you can avoid a chunk of the scripting experience that is needed to make such things.

I do however recommend you keep track of what you added and what you modify whether you get into scripting or not. Clear documentation of changes will save you a lot of headaches in the long run and will give you the option of asking for support here on these forums since you can clearly state: this is what I changed and this is my error.

Either way I wish you the best of luck with runuo and hope you enjoy the experience.

[siran]

Originally Posted by Makaar

Ok, I'm going to probably get flamed to no end for something in this post, but hear me out!

I am a player from long, long ago when UO was cool. I'm talking about Pre-T2A mostly, but I kept on until they added ridable beetles, then I called it quits once and for all. A lot of the newer stuff they have added is somewhat cool, but I want to capture the old feel. No 3D looking players, the ability to attack people in town and possibly kill them, talking NPCs, cutting up corses into pieces...all the good old stuff that made this game great. I don't mind Ilshenar and some of the newer enemies, but I'm looking for the old game in its core.

I have little to know knowledge on programming or writing scripts and all that jazz, I can follow instructions, though...so that's why I've come here. I used emulators before, but they were all very difficult in their earlier stages, so I just gave up. UO has come a long way and I've heard very good things about RunUO. My goal is to possibly make everything on my shard playable off of my computer, rather than a dedicated server. My friends and I want to be able to play this game whenever we want, so is there any way for this to happen:

1. Have all of us (just in our home town) be admins so say if one of us wasn't on, the game could continue to play when we wanted to?
2. Since none of us can afford a dedicated server, is it possible to run it off of our computers?
3. With that being said, is there a way to have the installation files (minus the UO installation cd) for our shard put on a dvd-r or cd-r? That way we can just install on all of our computers and pick up and play at any time.

Finally (I'm almost done!), I want to create new monsters and weapons...nothing INCREDIBLY new, just different hued with different names/stats. That's all. If I can have all of this, I will be incredibly happy. I miss the good UO, and I don't want to jump on a free shard, as all we want to do is play by ourselves, have a little creative freedom, and make some events for us to play.

My real question is....is this possible?? Am I dreaming? I've waited many years for a day when I could play UO in its glory days. Can someone point me to a walkthrough for this kind of stuff? ANY help at all would put my restless mind at ease. I'm seriously missing the good days when MMO's were new and the rules were free. Thank you for reading this, hope I'm not asking for a lot!

I'm 24 btw. Just work a lot and trying to raise a kid, so not a lot of time to learn from scratch. Thnx

I'm also an old school player, with the same desires. Yes it is certainly possible to do. What I am trying to create is a blend of the old and new that keeps the good of both.

[Nozgo1]

Wow, I am really glad to hear that so many people are having this idea, lol. I am pretty much on that same track, and just getting started with the research to start a web page(with front page) and then the shard. The best part is,almost all of the questions I think of are being asked right now....so alot more people than you think are benefiting from these "newbie" questions.

Thanks all, for askin the questions, and posting the answers.

[Makaar]

Ok, now I am having problems getting this going. I've pretty much figured out what all I want, but when I start RunUO, it says it can't find any scripts?

Is there a simpler way to go about just having a T2A/Ilshenar shard? I have up until Third Dawn on CD, but I want to keep a lot of the good old stuff too.

I guess what I'm asking is there a vastly easier way to just "have" the Ilshenar/T2A dealy offline and then work from there? A lot of the help I'm getting is telling me to update to the latest patches and then downgrade back to the era I'm talking about. Which from what I'm seeing is a LOT of work...like ....A LOT. Does someone have an easier way to go about this all? Thanks in advance! I am trying to learn scripting but its definately not easy! Not that I thought it would be. I tried UOX3 and well...didn't like it.

If I have to PAY someone to do this for me I will. If anyone is interested let me know. I'll pay a decent amount to get my dream UO working and on a CD/DVD-R so I'll always have it. Thanks in advance again...

KEEP IN MIND I WILL PAY SOMEONE TO DO THIS, IF THEY DO IT THE WAY I WANT IT...

This is about what I want done...so if someone could point me in the right direction from reading this, I would appreciate it, I know the people on here are a lot nicer than other forums of similar interest:

1. Client and game based on T2A spawn/loot
2. No locations blocked off from the players (anti-luring measures)
3. Liches in the graveyards...you remember the days.
4. Creatures made hard the way they used to be.
5. Able to poison people in town (like by poisoning food).
6. Healers weren't super-boxers.
7. Killing pack animals in town, possible.
8. Book types changed back so you could give a book to someone and it says "thou art giving me...I am not interested in this"
9. Able to carve bodies into organs/limbs.
10. Rare removable stuff is still removable (like the old "rock" spawn, or whips, blood vials...etc.)
11. Taming was more free and didn't require "sockets" or whatever
12. PVP is based on the factions era
13. Ilshenar is accessible.
14. Spawn in Ilshenar is based on the original spawn.
15. Placing houses is limited to what was available during T2A/T3D
16. Doesn't display -3 HP or whatever over opponents heads.
17. All character classes and skills are based on what they were during T2A..so maces do more damage.
18. No titles like (killer of the beetles or whatever it is now)
19. The ability to converse with NPCs like you could in early T2A

IF SOMEONE IS INTERESTED IN DOING THIS FOR A FEE, THEN I ALSO NEED THIS DONE:

20. It put all on a CD/DVD-R so I can install it on other people's pcs
21. The ability to make anyone an admin or create new accounts easily
22. Ability to create quests easily...or if this requires scripting then forget it until I learn it for myself

I know that was almost too much NEWBIE to put up with, but I am seriously willing to pay someone to help me get this going if they are knowledgable in the field. I'm not talking like $20, here...I'm talking upwards of $100 or so. Nearly whatever it will require to get everyone in my town playing the UO we all loved. Let me know (PM) if you are interested in doing it for money, or else, like I said...just help me out. There are a LOT of people like me out there that have little info on how to do this, and also do not have a lot of time to learn as we are utter newbs. Personally I am trying the hardest I can, but with raising a kid, trying to buy a house, and starting a store in a town 40 minutes away, I am moving at a snail's pace!! Thank you for reading this far...if you did

[LegolasLuva]

Ok, now I am having problems getting this going. I've pretty much figured out what all I want, but when I start RunUO, it says it can't find any scripts?

Is there a simpler way to go about just having a T2A/Ilshenar shard? I have up until Third Dawn on CD, but I want to keep a lot of the good old stuff too.

I guess what I'm asking is there a vastly easier way to just "have" the Ilshenar/T2A dealy offline and then work from there? A lot of the help I'm getting is telling me to update to the latest patches and then downgrade back to the era I'm talking about. Which from what I'm seeing is a LOT of work...like ....A LOT. Does someone have an easier way to go about this all? Thanks in advance! I am trying to learn scripting but its definately not easy! Not that I thought it would be. I tried UOX3 and well...didn't like it.

If I have to PAY someone to do this for me I will. If anyone is interested let me know. I'll pay a decent amount to get my dream UO working and on a CD/DVD-R so I'll always have it. Thanks in advance again...

KEEP IN MIND I WILL PAY SOMEONE TO DO THIS, IF THEY DO IT THE WAY I WANT IT...

This is about what I want done...so if someone could point me in the right direction from reading this, I would appreciate it, I know the people on here are a lot nicer than other forums of similar interest:

1. Client and game based on T2A spawn/loot
2. No locations blocked off from the players (anti-luring measures)
3. Liches in the graveyards...you remember the days.
4. Creatures made hard the way they used to be.
5. Able to poison people in town (like by poisoning food).
6. Healers weren't super-boxers.
7. Killing pack animals in town, possible.
8. Book types changed back so you could give a book to someone and it says "thou art giving me...I am not interested in this"
9. Able to carve bodies into organs/limbs.
10. Rare removable stuff is still removable (like the old "rock" spawn, or whips, blood vials...etc.)
11. Taming was more free and didn't require "sockets" or whatever
12. PVP is based on the factions era
13. Ilshenar is accessible.
14. Spawn in Ilshenar is based on the original spawn.
15. Placing houses is limited to what was available during T2A/T3D
16. Doesn't display -3 HP or whatever over opponents heads.
17. All character classes and skills are based on what they were during T2A..so maces do more damage.
18. No titles like (killer of the beetles or whatever it is now)
19. The ability to converse with NPCs like you could in early T2A

IF SOMEONE IS INTERESTED IN DOING THIS FOR A FEE, THEN I ALSO NEED THIS DONE:

20. It put all on a CD/DVD-R so I can install it on other people's pcs
21. The ability to make anyone an admin or create new accounts easily
22. Ability to create quests easily...or if this requires scripting then forget it until I learn it for myself

I know that was almost too much NEWBIE to put up with, but I am seriously willing to pay someone to help me get this going if they are knowledgable in the field. I'm not talking like $20, here...I'm talking upwards of $100 or so. Nearly whatever it will require to get everyone in my town playing the UO we all loved. Let me know (PM) if you are interested in doing it for money, or else, like I said...just help me out. There are a LOT of people like me out there that have little info on how to do this, and also do not have a lot of time to learn as we are utter newbs. Personally I am trying the hardest I can, but with raising a kid, trying to buy a house, and starting a store in a town 40 minutes away, I am moving at a snail's pace!! Thank you for reading this far...if you did

About that error, do you have the RunUO folder saved all together like it was when you downloaded it? Make you sure RunUO and the folders within are saved to the same directory.

Heh, a lot of those requests are semi easy (some harder than others), even for an apprentice scripter like me. But, spawns / loots should be a lot more specific, seeing as people like me weren't around for the 'classics'. I started a LBR, and I was newbish at ultima so I didn't even know what a moongate was for like a month.. By the time I got exploring, and found 'T2A', AoS already came out.

Now, most of your requests, such as spawn locations (and the rare items that appeared each server check), are done in-game with game master '[' commands.

The stats of monster, and their loot, are changed in the designated scripts.(ex. You want a dragon to drop 1,600 or w/e they gave, rather than a measly 550 they give now; You would edit that in the Dragon script, or in the LootType script.)

I have no knowledge about killing in town, someone else might be able to help. xD

Fixing the '-3 damage' when you hit is removed when you dissable AoS.

I'm not sure how to fix the 'taming sockets' (0/5 crap).
^- I loved being able to tame as much as I wanted. =P

That is about all I can help with.. Just start by editing monster scripts, and you will start to learn how to script (the way I learned, atleast).

I don't recommend paying someone to do this.. It is pretty simple, but like you say, you don't have a lot of time to spare. =X

[Makaar]

Thanks again. I'm trying little by little to understand this whole dealy. I realize the scripting part may not be the hardest, but setting up quests, an executable cd/dvd, and all that jazz is a little beyond me. When it comes to computers, I'm more of a "fix the computer" rather than "script a game" guy.

I'll keep at it, but if someone is willing to take me up on my offer, then let me know. Thanks again though for your help, you made it not seem all that bad, so maybe I'm looking too deep into this.

[Hanse the Insane]

I can answer number 3:

There is a program here called XMLSpawner, it will allow you to add liches to graveyards (Its the one I use) or try neruns.