Solve et Coagula
Novice
Hello all,
Very new to the server, like 2 weeks new and loving it.
I've been watching in game, scanning the forum boards, trying to put it all together.
I've been away from UO for well over a decade. From this perspective I can see that the complexity, importance, and culture surrounding macros in game have progressed beyond my memory way back at the turn of the century.
My recollection, that while some used EZ macro or something else to level skills, it was generally frowned upon by most players culturally and certainly the OSI powers that be as a matter of policy. My personal experience beyond the allowed set of macros available in the options menu was setting the remote control on the space bar with a macro to spam language while I went to school - to keep a red ghost logged in shedding murder counts. I think I came home to find my ghost in jail once or twice
I seem to remember some noise on the Stratics board about use of unauthorized macros in PvP- I never really remember experiencing that, and I spent entirely too many of my formative years logged in I can see that if I'm ever going to compete in PvP as anything more than a distance runner I'll need to become very aquatinted with at least some of these more complex macros.
So first point of interest- am I remembering that with rose tinted glasses? I know there was some violation back at the turn of the century w/OSI, but I don't think I was the only person who enjoyed playing and didn't make full use of those external programs.
Second point of interest - Not familiar with the culture of alternative servers like UOF, at what point culturally did the player base shift towards what you see now (razor included in the download as standard for example)? Was it something that has always been part of the alternative server community? Did things incrementally shift towards these programs coming into the open and embraced by players and the staff? Maybe an issue of an unenforceable law being a futile law at its core? Do current game mechanics or incentives de facto require their use to realistically achieve your goals, and the climate shifted from there?
After reviewing UOFs policy's and the forum, its clear these are an integral part of the modern version of the game, and their use is encouraged institutionally and through the grass roots player base.
Finally and to be crystal clear, my intent with this thread is not to make a qualitative judgement on the modern macro reality, but to gain some insight on the Why and the When and how it's changed, if any, from the creation of UOF.
Trying to keep it classy
Very new to the server, like 2 weeks new and loving it.
I've been watching in game, scanning the forum boards, trying to put it all together.
I've been away from UO for well over a decade. From this perspective I can see that the complexity, importance, and culture surrounding macros in game have progressed beyond my memory way back at the turn of the century.
My recollection, that while some used EZ macro or something else to level skills, it was generally frowned upon by most players culturally and certainly the OSI powers that be as a matter of policy. My personal experience beyond the allowed set of macros available in the options menu was setting the remote control on the space bar with a macro to spam language while I went to school - to keep a red ghost logged in shedding murder counts. I think I came home to find my ghost in jail once or twice
I seem to remember some noise on the Stratics board about use of unauthorized macros in PvP- I never really remember experiencing that, and I spent entirely too many of my formative years logged in
I can see that if I'm ever going to compete in PvP as anything more than a distance runner I'll need to become very aquatinted with at least some of these more complex macros. So first point of interest- am I remembering that with rose tinted glasses? I know there was some violation back at the turn of the century w/OSI, but I don't think I was the only person who enjoyed playing and didn't make full use of those external programs.
Second point of interest - Not familiar with the culture of alternative servers like UOF, at what point culturally did the player base shift towards what you see now (razor included in the download as standard for example)? Was it something that has always been part of the alternative server community? Did things incrementally shift towards these programs coming into the open and embraced by players and the staff? Maybe an issue of an unenforceable law being a futile law at its core? Do current game mechanics or incentives de facto require their use to realistically achieve your goals, and the climate shifted from there?
After reviewing UOFs policy's and the forum, its clear these are an integral part of the modern version of the game, and their use is encouraged institutionally and through the grass roots player base.
Finally and to be crystal clear, my intent with this thread is not to make a qualitative judgement on the modern macro reality, but to gain some insight on the Why and the When and how it's changed, if any, from the creation of UOF.
Trying to keep it classy
