Post: #7

What we need is a STABLE release!

I know there are fewer people working on the actual server, and that they have other priorities in life, but the last "once-yearly prerelease" was in 2009!

To build the community not only do we need a better organised website (no disrespect) but there has to be a product that people want to use, and will choose over RunUO, Pol, and even Wolfpack/UOX3.
I've been sphere for a long long time, though there are times I wish I had tried out RunUO way back when they first started it, the main reason I didn't try that was because as a community they came across as arrogant and aloof and were not really willing to help new people, and using a scripting language like C# which you can learn anywhere really, they didn't really need to.

Another issue is how badly sphere currently handles people running the latest client/patches. If someone has UO patched all the way up and coes to play on a sphereserver running an older client, sure they can grab the files, but unless you are offering up all the maps in .mul form (which I am not sure will make a difference) the map is screwed up, there are holes everywhere, and even stuff missing, important stuff like stairs for example.
This HAS to be addressed, it is making work for shard admins and is likely to drive players to a server that can support them. After all, who wants to either uninstall UO only to reinstall it and not patch it right back up (and patching at all right now is a pain in the ass) in order to play a different server, or even have 2 seperate installs of UO in order to play.

Sphere's has not been helped at all by the closure of the official site and the choke hold that Menace & Damian have on what is done with the server. That's not to say that sphere can't bounce back to the forefront, it's just going to take some hard work by the Dev's the Webguru, and yes by everyone in the community here on the forums.