WP

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Attention Players of the Pines
!!ANNOUNCING THE NEW 2016 WP EXPANSION!!

The Third Age of Whispering Pines is here! After many months of intense work, Falkor has managed to do the impossible. Without a player wipe (all accounts and systems are intact), we are going to a 7 series client and server. We are seeing a lot of other shards going to the newer client/server setup, but they are using a wipe to get there. We owe a great deal to Falkor for accomplishing this, and thanks to all our testers who helped weed out the bugs!

The land of Felucca, which has been closed for so long, has evolved to be entirely different than Trammel. The continents and seas share nothing with their former counterparts. Even some of the animals evolved differently; some have reported seeing old dragons roaming the land. The soil itself is different too. It seems to yield more wood and ore than we are used to harvesting in Trammel. Additional maps may become available down the road.

In the new client, Haven will be a bit different, as it has been destroyed in the new 7 clients. Due to this, Lothar and Harry Potter will be relocated to different locations. We will flesh out the new Felucca map as we go.

There will also be a new Consensual PvP system. You choose to set or not set your PvP flag (the choice is PvP or PvM). It displays under your name and the system prevents those with their flag set to PvM from being targeted. Doing this, we hope to attract more players who prefer PvP without burdening non PvP players. The PvP system is totally voluntary. Participate if you’d like or skip it if you’d rather. At no point does it limit your game play either way. All players get a PvM flag by default but can change to PvP (and back again) at any point. Combat can happen only in Felucca, and guild wars are supported too!

The client interface is graphically different, i.e. what the containers, journal, paperdoll, etc look like. It is very fresh.

Included in the installer download is a new version of UOAutoMap (UOAM) to go with the new map and client. It works with windows 10. Under the Map menu item, change the "UP client data files location..." to the new client folder ( default c:\UOWP ). Be sure and keep your performance sliders for each map all the way to the LEFT (slowest) or it will crash.

The staff of WP are very glad to have you on board during this exciting time for the shard.

Link to download can be found here:

Click HERE to Download the Custom Client

The staff of WP

Well, congrats on all the hard work and the accomplishment. I am not sure about this, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Some questions: (technical - my personal feelings are on hold till I see how it works

1) Any idea of what the system requirements are going to be to run the client? One of the great things of the 5.0.6c client is that it will run - and run well - on almost anything. Hows the version 7? Enhanced graphics? Need a minimum level video card? Need a .net setup? Need a minimum system speed? etc etc.

2) Pretty much the same concerns regarding computer resources for the Server and the ISP connect. Will the Server handle 20-30 people online at once (or more if you attract more people) ? How about bandwidth requirements? More packets for enhanced graphic will mean wider bandwidth needed. We get a bit sluggish even now when there are 15 or more people on at once (especially during a champ) - is this going to create a problem?

3) OPINION: The PVP/PVM flag stuff .. it's nice to have the option, but I'm wondering Why? you thought it was necessary to allow even consensual PVP? Just curious.

LochLinn

System requirements haven't changed because the client is largely the same. Newer UO or not, it's still a game from 1998. Updated graphics just replaced the old. More items means a larger download but after that it is largely the same. There are no 3D graphics or other things to slow down even a 10 year old computer. You will need the .net framework to run Razor.

We have averaged 30+ online in the past and hope to again. The server's hardware is more than up to the task; It is more capable than many of the "big" shards out there. If we need more bandwidth it can be arranged. If we have that problem it will be one we are glad to see.

More playstyle options are never a bad thing. Other shards hide the "good" content among the pvp lands so you must participate if you hope to advance. We will not do that. We do want to allow people to play vs each other if they wish, thus this system.

Falkor, feel free to jump in and correct me if I'm wrong in any of this.

LochLinn wrote:1) Any idea of what the system requirements are going to be to run the client? One of the great things of the 5.0.6c client is that it will run - and run well - on almost anything. Hows the version 7? Enhanced graphics? Need a minimum level video card? Need a .net setup? Need a minimum system speed? etc etc.

Same system requirements as 5.0.6c.

LochLinn wrote:2) Pretty much the same concerns regarding computer resources for the Server and the ISP connect. Will the Server handle 20-30 people online at once (or more if you attract more people) ? How about bandwidth requirements? More packets for enhanced graphic will mean wider bandwidth needed. We get a bit sluggish even now when there are 15 or more people on at once (especially during a champ) - is this going to create a problem?

20 to 30 or more should be no problem. The server is using a very small fraction of the bandwidth available to it. Keep in mind that there is more to connectivity than just the server's bandwidth. Traffic at the hops and an individual's bandwidth will most certainly play a part. We didn't say "Enhanced" graphics, we said graphically different and fresh.

LochLinn wrote:3) OPINION: The PVP/PVM flag stuff .. it's nice to have the option, but I'm wondering Why? you thought it was necessary to allow even consensual PVP? Just curious.

As you stated, it is nice to have the option for those that wish to participate. This opens a door to a much larger player base without affecting or hurting those players that have no interest in PvP.

Ghost

hehe, I see Falkor was posting at the same time I was =)

Thanks , Both of you (Ghost and Falkor). I dl/ed the package and installed .. not running it yet, as per your instructions, but ready. And keeping all fingers and toes crossed (painful, I know lol).

im excited to try this new world and age of our lovely Home and the fact that the accounts wern't afected in this transsion is absolutly wonderfull and i be honored to play on this new world

I can't wait to explore new areas and I am sure the new expansion will be awesome.
Thank you Ghost and Falkor for everything you do for us as members and the shard, bringing all the new things for use to have fun.

Thank you so much
Can't wait to try it out.

Rose(IndianaMom)

Staff has tentatively set 9am this Saturday (March 12th) as the time for the server/client changeover. We will take the shard down for approximately 1 hour. When we come back up, you will need to log in with the new client (the old one will no longer connect).

There will be a new "Getting Started" post at that time which will help guide you if you are using Razor. Yes, you can still connect with the decrypted client or other apps in place of Razor.

Ghost

Just a reminder that we are switching to the new server/client combo tomorrow morning at 9am shard time.

You must now use the New 2016 Client to connect!!

Ghost