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OLD NEWS! Get UOAssist specific update
information on the Updates page.
May 27, 2004
May 12, 2004
April 21, 2004
March 18, 2004
March 15, 2004
-
Posted a test UOAssist.dll. It adds extra
registration key slots to bring the total up to 22 slots now.
That is the max that would fit on the dialog and still be small enough
to for those running 640x480 screen resolution.
-
If no problems are found for a couple of days it will
be posted as a normal release for all.
-
Also note that this change requires updates to
language files. So if you are using a language other than English
you still won't see the extra slots until the updated language files
are posted. Those updates will be posted when this new
uoassist.dll is posted as a regular release.
March 13, 2004
-
The main download server had a, still to be
determined, hardware failure. Until that machine has been fixed
downloads have been routed to a different server. It is possible
that some people will continue to have trouble until their DNS servers
get the IP address of the new machine. This problem should not
affect the automatic updater as it automatically tries a backup server
if there is trouble getting updates from the main server. Only
downloads from the website directly should have been
troublesome.
Feb 5, 2004
Jan 31, 2004
Jan 28, 2004
Jan 9, 2004
Dec 8, 2003
Dec 4, 2003
Oct 15, 2003 (2nd post)
-
Internet outages - A number of people noticed that
they could not connect to Tugsoft's website or update server last
night so here is information on what has been going on.
-
This past Sunday night our ISP loaded new software on
their router that Tugsoft has its connection on. Since that time
the connection has been failing for short periods of time (1 or 2
minutes at a time, was ever 3 or 4 hours now it seems around every 1
1/2 hours).
-
About 10:30 (MST) last night the connection went dead
again. But this time it stayed down until around 4:30 (MST) this
morning. This problem turned out not to be related to the
problems that have been happening since the ISP's router software
update. The ISP has explained it was a problem at the telco
(telephone company that owns the physical lines).
-
What is happening now - Tonight (or tomorrow morning
early if you prefer) around 2am MST our ISP is going to go back to the
router software version they were using before in hopes of getting rid
of the short outages that have been happening since upgrading.
They estimate less than 5 minutes of down time. The long outage
that happened this morning should not happen again.
-
Sorry for and trouble or stress this might have caused
anyone.
Oct 15, 2003
Oct 4, 2003
-
A few users emailed about having trouble with using
target relative to chop on trees. It turned out that publish 20
servers have a change in them that mostly broke the feature (still
worked on exact same type of trees). Changes in UOAssist have
been made to over come this problem. Because of the needed
changes (reading map data) the target relative feature will now work
with fishing, mining and tree chopping again. Mining may
actually work better with this updated target relative version.
-
A test file has been posted with the updated target
relative. If you fish, mine or chop on trees using target
relative and are having problem get it and try it out.
Sept 30, 2003
-
A couple of problems were found and corrected
(UOAssist.exe and UpdateAce.dll). The problem is the last
updateace.dll contained a bad bug that causes it to crash when
updating files that were 'in use' during the update process. Which
means it can't update UOAssist.exe without crashing.
-
What you'll see is an Unhandled Exception Error (GPF/crash)
in file UAP??.tmp after the download occurs and you hit continue.
-
Here are 3 methods that can be used to update
manually. Pick the one that you feel most comfortable doing.
- Method 1 (easy if you know Windows Explorer): After
receiving the error about a unhandled exception in UA???.tmp use
Windows Explorer and go do your UOAssist directory (default is
c:\program files\UOAssist). Under that you should see a
download directory. Copy the UOAssist.exe file that is in
the download directory to your UOAssist directory.
- Method 2 Manually download UOAssist.exe
and put it in your UOAssist directory (default location is
c:\program files\uoassist).
- Method 3 Uninstall UOAssist by choosing the shortcut
Start | Programs | UOAssist | UOAssist - uninstall. You will
be asked if you want to remove settings (default is to remove all
settings). Make sure you switch the option to 'None -
leave all settings' or all of your macros and settings will be
removed. Then download UOAssist.exe
and run it and it will reinstall with updated files that don't
crash during updates.
-
Sorry for the trouble. The bug has been fixed so
the next update to UOAssist.exe can be done automatically again.
Sept 23, 2003
-
A new UOAssist.exe and UOAssist.dll have been
posted. More information is available on the Updates
page.
-
NOTE: If you are getting an error about a
missing or corrupt UpdateAce.dll you need to manually download UOAssist.exe
and save it over your current version (the default location is
c:\program files\uoassist).
Sept 15, 2003 - 2nd post
-
A resource bug (causes potion problems, use item type
problems ...) has found finally. Hopefully this will fix the
problem that people have been having for a while. About an hour
ago was the first success in over a month of attempts to reproduce the
problem.
-
If you keep
items used in macros (including built-in macros like drink heal) in
your 'main' pack and have trouble with those macros not working get
the latest test update. It should fix your problem. After
you get the update make sure you count resources and that should get
you back on track again.
-
The problem that was found only concerns items that
were in your main pack (not sub packs) when you logged into the game.
-
To get test releases like that click the settings
button at the bottom right of UOAssist's update/news page. Then
set UOAssist to check for test releases. After doing that you'll
have to restart UOAssist. When a test release is available an
extra button will appear that allows you to download it if you wish.
-
If you regularly had the resource problem and this
fixes the problem (or doesn't) please email uoassist@tugsoft.com
so it can be determined if the problem is truely fixed with this test
release or not.
Sept 15, 2003
Aug 27, 2003
-
A new Test UOAssist.dll
has been posted. It fixes the Bag of Sending trouble when
resources are counted.
-
To get the test file you must download it (link above
OR press the settings button on the update/news page and set the
updater to check for test files and then restart). If you
manually download the file using the link above save it into your
UOAssist directory (default is c:\program files\uoassist).
Aug 26, 2003
Aug 22, 2003
-
A test UOAssist.dll
has been posted. A number of people have reported problems with
resource tracking/usage. Meaning macros with use item type,
target type, built in macros that use resources like bandage self,
drink potion ... or features dealing with resources (like the
organizer agent) are not functioning correctly. After extensive
attempts to reproduce the problem it still has not happened
here. However a couple of 'new' packet types have been coded for
in case somehow they were causing the problem.
-
If you are having the problems described above make
sure you count resources. If you have done that a bunch and the
problem keeps coming back please download the test file and see if it
helps. Please report your results pro or con. If it
doesn't help the most helpful thing would be if you could find a way
to reproduce the problem reliably and send the steps so it can be
tried here.
-
To get the test file you must download it (link above
OR press the settings button on the update/news page and set the
updater to check for test files and then restart). If you
manually download the file using the link above save it into your
UOAssist directory (default is c:\program files\uoassist).
July 31, 2003
June 20, 2003
June 6, 2003
-
The UOASpeed beta server has been shut down. On
March 31st OSI emailed a list of concerns about UOASpeed to which a
response to each was made. Since it had been so long since a
reply to the concerns was made with no reply from OSI a little over a
week ago another message was sent to OSI asking about the
status. The response from OSI was the answer still was no
which was surprising since they never sent a message stating that
before. Another message was sent to OSI asking why they decided
on no but they have not responded for a week so the beta server has
been shutdown.
-
So it boils down to this. OSI has rejected
UOASpeed approval. I do not have details on why they came to
that decision so if you'd like to find out you'll need to contact OSI
directly.
-
The good news is OSI has made some changes that do
help modem users (and others as well). But even with those
changes UOASpeed still benefited a number of the beta testers (there
were also a few that it did not benefit). A big sorry goes out
to those modem users that had dreams of a little less 'lag' in UO.
May 29, 2003
May 21, 2003
April 22, 2003
April 17, 2003
March 21, 2003
March 13, 2003
March 4, 2003
March 2, 2003
March 1, 2003
Feb 25, 2003
-
Non-english users: If you are having trouble
with UOAssist not displaying good descriptions of items know that this
is being worked on. If you'd like you can try this test UOAssist.dll
(save it over your current UOAssist.dll which by default is at
c:\program files\uoassist). That should fix the problem but
you'll need to get UOAssist to 'reload' descriptions where there are
problems. Like on the Arm dialog, clear the setting and reset
it. That should fix it up for you.
Feb 20, 2003
-
A new version of UOAssist.dll has been posted.
More details on the Updates page.
-
New language modules for Chinese, German, Korean and
Japanese have been posted. If you find a problem with them
please email UOAssist@tugsoft.com
with details.
Feb 19, 2003
-
Trial discussion boards have been put up. If
interest is low or maintenance turns out to be high they will be
removed. There is a link in the left panel or go
here. NOTE: Only registered (on the board) can
post. And to complete registration you must provide a valid
email address.
-
Thanks to all of you that offered your help with the
Necro spells. The quick help enabled this latest test version to
come out today instead of later.
-
The test version posted today should be pretty much
complete with needed AoS updates. In addition to the features
already updated it has:
-
Necro reagent counting (see display page of
UOAssist)
-
Tithing point display (see display page of
UOAssist)
-
Spell names after power words for both Paladin and
Necro spells
-
AR display should no longer show the very high AR
values.
-
Organizer agent can better stack items when using
the 'drop on bag' position
-
Resource counting works with more of the plant
items
-
Bags of sending no longer cause problems while
count resources on AoS servers
-
Bagballs are now recognized as containers.
-
There are more details on the updates
page under the planned for next update section.
-
If you'd like to get test releases hit the Settings
button at the bottom right of the update/news page. And set it
to check for test releases. Then you'll need to restart UOAssist.
When there is a test release available a dialog will appear offering
you the option of downloading it. If you have trouble with a
test release you can simply delete UOAssist.dll and the 'release'
version will get downloaded the next time you startup.
-
NOTE: Japanese,
Chinese,
German
and Korean
language users. Your language module must be updated to use the
extra features on the display page. Click on your language near the
start of this bullet item to download the test language files.
If you find a problem please report it to uoassist@tugsoft.com. One thing that has not
been tested is if multi-byte characters work correctly for the user
defined resource names.
Feb 14, 2003
-
Update - Posted a new version has fixes below and
more. More details on updates page.
-
There will be more updates to get UOAssist updated for
new AoS features/changes but time just ran out. This update is
intended to get most broken things working again before the weekend.
-
Posted a new TEST release with the following
fixes:
-
All new skills in list and working
-
Bag 'tagging' is working limitedly.
Currently if a bag has more than one tag you'll only see
one. Meaning if you have the recycle bag and hot sell bag
both set as the same actual bag you will only see one of the
'tags' as you mouse over. Sometimes changing bags around
causes problems with tags not updating correctly as well.
Feb 13, 2003
Feb 12, 2003
-
A problem has been found that can cause UOAssist to
freeze up on AOS servers if certain conditions are present. It
is being looked into currently. Hard to guess a solution time as
it is hard to get into the servers for testing.
-
UPDATE: A patch has been posted that corrects
the freeze on login problem.
-
Things that are being looked into currently:
-
Macros containing spell casting (spell casting has changes so macros
with spells are broken, further you can't record them
currently). Status 5:45PM MST: coded - awaiting
servers to test
-
Object naming for the vendor list and other areas
that display names (you may see blank names until it is fixed). Status
5:45PM MST: fixed - but some descriptions are long - may need
to tweak (has all the info you see when you view it in your
inventory)
-
Skill list does not contain no AoS skills. Status
5:45PM MST: known but not touched yet
-
Bag of sending may freeze Counting
Resources. Status 5:45PM MST: not tested yet
Feb 11, 2003
-
New test version posted that contains a couple of
highly requested features.
-
1 - You can now set up to 6 user defined resources to
count. The extra 4 can be defined on the Advanced resource
page. Only the first 2 on the 'normal' resources page will
display a count directly in UOAssist. But all can be displayed
using the display resources feature (keys page) or on the titlebar if
UOAssist is setup to display there (display page).
-
2 - You can now set your own text to display for your
user defined resources.
-
There will probably be more test releases this week
for the new AOS features as well. Then once things seem stable
an official update will be done.
-
NOTE: Japanese,
Chinese,
German
and Korean
language users. Your language module must be updated use the 4
extra user defined resources. Click on your language near at the
start of this bullet item to download the test language files.
If you find a problem please report it. One thing that has not
been tested is if multi-byte characters work correctly for the user
defined resource names.
-
If you'd like to get test releases hit the Settings
button at the bottom right of the update/news page. And set it
to check for test releases. Then you'll need to restart UOAssist.
When there is a test release available a dialog will appear offering
you the option of downloading it. If you have trouble with a
test release you can simply delete UOAssist.dll and the 'release'
version will get downloaded the next time you startup.
-
AOS status of UOAssist: A copy was preordered
and did arrive today (from the EA store via UPS). Since there
are major amounts of people trying to get in (yet another land rush
I'd guess) no AOS features/lands will be looked into until at least
tomorrow.
Feb 4, 2003
-
Oddly enough the power has gone out (11:20am
MST). Since one of the main UPSes died over the weekend the
updater and web server may go down shortly. Also trial requests
and orders will not be processed until power can be restored as that
server has been shutdown to prolong the remaining UPSes as long as
possible. Bad news is this seems to be a major power outage as
neighboring cities have also lost power. For the humorous side
of this, I (Tug) had just got off the phone with a computer store to
order a replacement UPS when the power failed.
-
UPDATE (12:20pm MST)- Power has been
restored. Expected more downtime since power went out in at
least 3 counties.
Feb 2, 2003
-
About 1:45am this morning a UPS failed. This
failure took down the update and web server. Sorry for the
trouble but all is back up now.
-
The failure of the UO patcher is not related to the
trouble Tugsoft was having. OSI/EA is aware of the problem
UOPatch is having according to their website.
Jan 31
Jan 24, 2003
-
Well the telco has finished the line testing but was
unable to pin point the problem so the intermittent problems may
remain for a while.
-
Here is a test
UOAssist.dll for those that have reactivated accounts
recently. Save it over the top of your current UOAssist.dll
which is in your UOAssist directory.
Jan 23, 2003
-
Connection problems: Since the total outage
experienced on Dec 10th there has been a continued connection
problem. The connection has been going down 2 or 3 times a day
for 30 seconds to 5 minutes at random intervals. So tomorrow
(Jan 24) at 11am MST our connection will be down for 30 minutes to 2
hours as the telco does testing to locate their problem (downtime is
as estimated by the telco). This means the website, email and
the update servers will be unreachable during the testing.
UOAssist will still be usable but the news page will not appear if you
attempt to update during the downtime. Also if you attempt to
update during the downtime you'll be given an error message and told
that if UOAssist can't update XX times in so many attempts it will
become disabled. Simply don't restart UOAssist a bunch of times
so it becomes disabled on you. Sorry for any trouble this might
cause.
Jan 10, 2003
Dec 27, 2002
Dec 20, 2002
-
Posted an update. More information on the updates
page.
-
Because OSI/EA is hard at work on the Age of Shadows
version they have rejected ideas presented to them in hopes of getting
resync with server put back in but in a way people can't
exploit. They simply don't have the time currently to make sure
it was a good solution. The changes made to the resync feature
were: you couldn't use it if you were moving (like pickup items
feature), couldn't move (speak or anything) for 3 seconds after using
it and could only be used once per 15 seconds.
Dec 11, 2002
-
Back in service after 14 hours of downtime. The
phone company has repaired the cable.
-
This was not a planned downtime. About a mile
down the road some construction guys dug through a major phone company
cable so it had to be spliced back together.
-
A test version was posted today. No new features
or bug fixes, just some code changes.
Dec 10, 2002
Nov 26, 2002
Nov 19, 2002
Nov 15, 2002
Nov 8, 2002
Oct 21, 2002
Oct 18, 2002
-
MarkeeDragon.com
now offers the UO Gold for UOAssist program on all shards. So if
you'd like to get UOAssist and pay for it with UO Gold visit www.markeedragon.com/....
-
Trouble updating or getting the news page after the
last update? Most likely you have a firewall running that is
preventing UOAssist from accessing the internet. Give UOAssist
access to the internet or turn off the firewall. Special note
for ZoneAlarm users. A number of people have reported that just
turning off zonealarm doesn't help as it continues to block internet
access. You may have to fully uninstall it and reboot before
updates will continue. Or contact ZoneAlarm's support to ask
them how to overcome the problem.
Oct 15, 2002
-
The moving of the speech pause helped some and hurt
others so more changes have been made. Unless there is a target
command after the speech the pause will happen after speech
again. More information is on the Updates
page.
-
You can get this update if you have UOAssist set to
check for test files. To do that hit the settings button on the
update/news page.
Oct 14, 2002
-
A new version of UOAssist has been posted. Visit
the updates page for more information.
-
NOTE for people running a personal firewall.
Because UOAssist.exe was updated many (of the better) personal
firewalls will begin blocking UOAssist.exe from accessing the
internet. You'll need to give UOAssist access or it will stop
working.
Oct 1, 2002
-
A new Japanese language module has been posted.
The skill names were updated to match what OSI uses in the 3d client.
-
A test UOAssist.dll is
available here. It has a new option for non-English language
users. On the skills list (on skills page) you can right click
and select to have skill names displayed in English if desired.
Sept 27, 2002
Sept 23, 2002
Sept 16, 2002
Sept 10, 2002
-
A bug was found that can cause one to receive "You can not perform beneficial acts on your target."
from the servers while a macro is playing that has targeting commands
in it or last target/target self is being used. The source of the problem has been found and corrected so
the message will no longer is received.
-
If you'd like a test UOAssist.dll with the fix in it download
it here and save it over your current UOAssist.dll.
-
The fix will also be in future updates to
UOAssist. Impact of the bug is being evaluated but it seems just
to be a minor bother (extra text on screen) so the update isn't being
loaded on the auto-updater yet.
Sept 5, 2002
Sept 3, 2002
August 24, 2002
-
Windows XP users - If you run UOAssist in
'compatibility' mode a couple of problems will occur. First when
UO is in Windowed mode the Max, Min and Close buttons will not be the
correct size. And if you choose a Win9x mode you will be unable
to copy items to the clipboard (skills or vendor bag item list).
So make sure you let UOAssist run in native mode (no compatibility
options on). If you don't remember how you turned it on this is
how: Right click your UOAssist shortcut then choose properties
on the menu that appears. Now click on the Compatibility tab and
there you are. Turn off compatibility mode for best preformance.
August 21, 2002
August 16, 2002
July 27, 2002
July 25. 2002
July 24, 2002
July 19, 2002
June 29, 2002
June 21, 2002
May 30, 2002
May 28, 2002
May 13, 2002
April 25, 2002
-
Some blacksmiths have noticed problems with smelting
items. The problem is related to the new dragon hammers.
To smelt non-dragon items you must use a non-dragon hammer. And
to smelt dragon items you must use a dragon hammer. The problem
is UOAssist doesn't know the difference between the hammer
types. So if you have a dragon hammer in your pack and the smelt
agent happens to pick the dragon hammer to use during smelting you
will probably start getting errors stating the item could not be
smelted into ingots.
-
To work around this problem simply remove all dragon
hammers from your pack before smelting.
-
Currently a 'fix' is being tested in which UOAssist
can tell the difference between a dragon hammer and a 'normal' sledge
hammer.
April 23, 2002
April 14, 2002
-
Found a problem with UOAssist.exe that made it default
to 'user defined client location' rather than using the default
client. This caused new installs to get an error when UOAssist
tried to launch UO. The updater should automatically give out the
new exe that will fix the problem.
-
If you are getting the launching error you may
have to manually tell UOAssist to use the default location. Do
this by clicking the Settings button at the bottom right of the
update/news page. Near the middle of the settings page you
should see options for 2D client, 3D client or User Defined. Set
it to 2D or 3D as desired.
-
Information on updates on the Updates
page.
April 13, 2002
April 11, 2002
-
UOAssist.exe and UOAssist.dll have been updated.
More information here.
-
Because UOAssist.exe was updated you may need to
update your firewall settings to allow UOAssist.exe access to the
internet again if you are running a firewall. This is also true
of UO itself because client.exe and uotd.exe were updated yesterday.
April 9, 2002
-
A test UOAssist.exe has been posted (if you have
UOAssist set to check for test files you will get it
automatically). It reduces bandwidth used while checking for
updates. So for those with modems it make show the update/news
page a little faster.
-
The last test UOAssist.dll seems to be working well
for people (no new reports of problems). The plan was to post
this version as a 'release' today or tomorrow but since OSI is
updating the client tomorrow this update will wait until at least
Thursday to avoid a little confusion.
April 6, 2002
-
Another problem was found in the test
UOAssist.dll. On Win9x/ME machines UOAssist was not creating the
window for 3rd parties to connect to UOAssist through (like UOAM,
Xena's Magic Tool ...). That has been fixed and a new test file
has been posted. Thanks to those using the test files for
reporting the problems they have found. To get the update you
should be able to just restart UOAssist so it will check for updates.
April 4, 2002 - 2nd update
April 4, 2002
-
A test UOAssist.dll was posted. It contains the
pickup agent so you can now specify a bag for UOAssist to put items it
picks up for you. Also contains a fix for carpentry menu
selection in macros.
-
If you have UOAssist set to check for test files it
will get it for you automatically.
-
If it goes well over the weekend the plan is to
release it early next week.
-
IF you do get the test file and have problems with it
do this. First turn off checking for test files by pressing the
Settings button at the bottom right of the update/news page.
Then delete your UOAssist.dll file. When you restart UOAssist it
will download the 'shipping' version for you. Then please report
the trouble to UOAssist@tugsoft.com
-
UPDATE: The first test release had a problem
with certain resources (pictures, menus...). A new test release
has been posted that corrects those problems. Thanks for the
quick responses on those problems.
March 7, 2002
March 1, 2002
Jan 30, 2002
Jan 10, 2002
Jan 4, 2002
Jan 2, 2002
-
A 'test' UOAssist.dll <removed>. Details about it below:
-
The last update introduced a bug with the organizer
agent. The bug makes it so all items past the first item moved
get put in random places. This bug has been fixed and is in the
test UOAssist.dll.
-
The selling agent has been changed so it can sell more
than five items again. This version will sell more than 5 items
at a time if the items are in stacks. It will attempt to sell up
to 20 items at a time but will not attempt to sell more than 5 stacks
of items. Hope that is understandable. If you have
problems with sales not completing please send an email with details (server,
quantity, item selling and to what type of vendor).
-
If you run into a problem with the test UOAssist.dll
please report it to UOAssist@tugsoft.com.
Then delete your test UOAssist.dll and restart UOAssist. That
will get the current 'shipping' version downloaded for you.
Dec 31, 2001
-
An update was posted today. More details on the Updates page.
-
Quick run down is the organizer agent can now be used
to fill potion kegs.
-
QUICK NOTE ON Organizer agent. Some people think
they just have to setup the organizer bags and items and the agent
will automatically work. This is not the case. You must
setup the organizer bag(s) and item types to put in the bag(s) but you
also must setup hotkeys for the organizer agent on the keys page
(bottom of feature list). Then you activate the organizer agent
using one of the hotkeys and it will move items from your MAIN pack
into the bag you designated. Currently it will not move items
from sub-containers to the organizer bags. Also know that the
organizer bags need to be in your pack.
Dec 29, 2001
-
The Chinese language module has been updated.
Thanks to William Yang for his work on the language module.
-
The German language module has been updated.
Thanks to Marco Warga for his work on the language module.
Dec 24, 2001
-
A big Happy Holidays to everyone.
-
An update was posted today. More details on the Updates page.
-
The Japanese language module was also updated
today. A special thanks to Takahiro Matsumoto for his work on
the Japanese module.
-
If a native German is interested in updating the
German module please email UOAssist@tugsoft.com.
You'll need a resource editor such as VC++ to do the
translation. (UPDATE: This is being taken care of now.
Thanks for the response)
-
Also thanks go to OSI for approving the new features
in UOAssist quickly and being responsive to requests.
Dec 4, 2001
-
Note for miners using target relative. A new
version of target relative has been added to the macro system
specifically for mining. If you have mining macros that use the
target relative feature and you are having problems with it retarget
the target relative lines (right click then select retarget).
Then after retargeting right click again and select the target
relative location (mining) feature. That should help.
Because of the changes on the servers, concerning mining targeting, it
may not work 100% of the time.
-
UOAssist.dll has been updated.
More details on the Updates page.
Nov 30, 2001
Nov 29, 2001
Nov 21, 2001
Nov 16, 2001
-
Changes on LS and Test Center 2 caused the smelting
portion of the recycle agent to fail. Today's update should
correct that problem on those 2 servers.
-
UOAssist.exe and UOAssist.dll has been updated.
More details on the Updates page.
Nov 10, 2001
Nov 1, 2001
-
The last update was quite confusing for a number of
people so I'll try to clear things up and help people understand what
happened so in the future they don't get so concerned about macros and
settings being lost. First a new UOAssist.dll was released on
Tuesday morning before OSI released the client patch. Actually
the client patch was not expected and the updated UOAssist.dll had
nothing to do with it, just bad timing it turns out because it added
to the confusion. Later that day OSI did update the clients and
the data stream was changed. When that happens you see the 'Data
stream has changed....' message from UOAssist. A new
UOAssist.dll actually was not required as often is the case but since
a new UOAssist.dll was released earlier that same day it made people
believe the 'update' didn't work. The problem with the data
stream change made it so UOAssist couldn't tell what shard you were
playing on so it couldn't find character's settings (like macros,
hotkeys if not global, resources data ...). Once the update
server (no new UOAssist.dll was needed) was updated with the info
needed on the data stream change all of the settings, macros ...
'magically' came back because UOAssist again knew what shard you were
using. But when things like this happen there is more fall out
as well. In most cases if you saw the data stream has changed
error you must count resources after the problem is corrected because
any change on your character will get UOAssist out of date. Like
the message says when you first log into the game, it really is a good
idea to count resources. If you don't your bandage self or other
functions that rely on up to date resource data may not function
correctly. Hope that helps.
Oct 30, 2001
Sept 27, 2001
Sept 20, 2001
-
A few users have reported problems with UOAssist after
installing IE6.0. This is being looked into and may be related
to problems found on WinXP. If you have IE 6.0 and have problems
when the update/news page is displayed send an email to uoassist@tugsoft.com
explaining the details (OS your are using Win9x, Win2k ....) and it is
possible a test UOAssist.exe will be sent for testing. Also for
you WinXP users, a test UOAssist.exe is available but the 'old' load
method does not currently work on WinXP so you must use one of the
other load methods.
Sept 5, 2001
Sept 5, 2001
Sept 4, 2001 - 2nd update
Sept 4, 2001
August 30, 2001
August 23, 2001
-
UOAssist.dll has been updated.
More details on the Updates page.
-
Also a note on email addresses. Around 7% of
the email we receive has bad reply addresses so the reply's never
reach the person. If you are sending uoassist@tugsoft.com
email and not getting replies that is most likely the cause (this
includes you Paul).
August 17, 2001
July 13, 2001
June 25, 2001
June 22, 2001
June 20, 2001
June 15, 2001
June 14, 2001
June 13, 2001
June 8, 2001
June 6, 2001
May 31, 2001
May 30, 2001
May 25, 2001
May 18, 2001
May 9, 2001
-
A new UOAssist.dll has been released. More
details on the Updates page.
-
WARNING: If you
cancel the downloading of the new dll UOAssist will become disabled
until you update. If you did this and have UOAssist set to only
check for updates once per day use the following start menu shortcut
to force UOAssist to check for updates: Start | Programs |
UOAssist | UOAssist - force update check
April 25, 2001
March 30, 2001
March 17, 2001
March 16, 2001
March 10, 2001
March 9, 2001
March 9, 2001
-
Here is a new test UOAssist.dll
(version 1.18.6.7) It fixes the vendor auto pricing
feature. But a warning: From the looks of things OSI is
not finished localizing the vendor pricing feature so this may break
again if they do make changes in that area.
-
Also got news back from Japan that the test versions
are working fine with multi-byte character sets - so after some more
testing a new UOAssist.dll will be put on the auto-updater.
Hopefully late tonight this will happen.
-
Some people have requested that UOAssist 'translate'
the new magic item descriptions to the 'old' way. Meaning 'magic
katana [1/0/1/0]' would become 'durable katana of might' (or
whatever). Since OSI is planning to make further changes in this
area it will have to wait for UOAssist as well to see what they do.
-
The above causes problems for the vendor bag list as
well for magic items. Once OSI finishes the changes to this
feature UOAssist will be modified to better display the magically
properties of items. Same for exception items that are 'tagged'
with the makers name.
March 8, 2001
-
Fixed a few more problems created from the
localization changes. Fixed the auto-GM mark, vendor agent magic
item id, and vendor agent list.
UOAssist.dll version 1.18.6.6.
-
NOTE There have been reports that vendor agent auto-pricing is
not working still. That will be looked into most likely
tomorrow.
March 7, 2001 - 2nd post
-
Found a couple more items that needed adjustment for
the localization changes.
-
Also fixed the problem for people using UOA Translator
and not being able to talk to NPC's effectively.
-
Here is the new test UOAssist.dll (version 1.18.6.5)
-
Still waiting for word back from Japan to make sure
the changes work correctly on multi-byte character systems. If
you happen to be using a Japanese/Chinese/Korean version of Windows
and would like to try some test out email
us:).
March 7, 2001
-
For those on servers that have been updated for Third
Dawn lands here is a test UOAssist.dll
(version 1.18.6.4). It should fix many of the broken features
(stacking, dress and arm descriptions...). Just save it over
your current UOAssist.dll to use it. If that is something you
don't know how to do or are not comfortable doing just wait:).
Once it has been tested in Japan it will be released and the update
will happen automatically.
-
If you use the 3rd party addon UOA Translator you
probably won't be able to converse with NPC's (like vendors or bankers
...). For now you'll have to uninstall UOA Translator while a
solution is being coded.
March 4, 2001 - 2nd post
-
Our connection to the internet was interrupted for a
while causing updates to fail. When this happens you see the
message Failure XX. XX (some number 10 or less) more times and
UOAssist will be disabled. Well the error isn't worded the best
so I'll attempt to explain it. What it means is if the update
check fails 10 times in a row UOAssist will be disabled UNTIL the next
successful update check. It is not a permanent disable, just
temporary. The error message will be changed in a future release
that should make that clear.
March 4, 2001
March 3, 2001
Feb 20, 2001
Feb 16, 2001
Feb 15, 2001
-
If you are crashing on entering the 3rd dawn beta
server try using the 3rd dawn beta client. The cause of the
crash seems to be getting a description of an item from the server (we
can not reproduce it still, if you have an item that reproduces the
problem please let us know). What is happening is if you set a
dress setting in UOAssist when you log into the server UOAssist
requests the description of the item(s). When the servers return
the description it can crash the 'old' UO client because it is in a
new format. Since we have not been able to reproduce it this is
our best guess with the data we have received from people that had the
problem.
Feb 5, 2001
-
More news on the speech problem: The speech
packet has been changed which is causing problems IF you have the
UOAssist translator plug-in installed and also for people using UO
Auto Map and group chat (via the -- command). Also UOAssist
command line commands are broken because of the change. It is
being looked into and should be fixed later today. This change
will require a new UOAssist.dll. Once the update is posted it
should correct problems with the translator and UOAM as well without
requiring an update of either of those products.
-
-- An update was released for UOAssist.dll (version
1.18.1) that should correct the problems. NOTE: we have not
tested this with any language other than English so non-English users
may still experience problems. If you do please let us know
at uoasssist@tugsoft.com.
Feb 3, 2001
Jan 22, 2001
-
A new test UOAssist.exe has been posted. It
allows you to select use of the 'standard' or 'Third Dawn' client
easily. This setting is found by pressing the 'Settings' button
in the bottom right of the UOAssist update news page. NOTE- If
you get this new file it will default to launch the standard UO client
so you'll need to set it to launch the Third Dawn client if that is
what you wish to use.
-
This new test UOAssist.exe also may help the people
that sometimes can not restart UOAssist after exiting without
rebooting because UOAssist thinks it is already running.
-
Here is the Third Dawn page
which has the file on it.
Jan 19, 2001
Jan 15, 2001
-
The web server was having some trouble over the
weekend so people attempting to retrieve lost keys on the Locate Key
page, get a trial key or order UOAssist may have run into
problems. This has been taken care of and should work fine
now. Sorry for the trouble.
-
Once again there are a few people out there trying to
get your UO account information or access to your machine by spreading
fake programs they say are either 'UOAssist key generators', an add-on
to UOAssist or betas (like house add-ons/agents) to UOAssist.
The current fake key generator is easily found as a trojan by Norton
Anti-Virus but the 'house beta' was not initially detected as
such. After looking at the program itself it is easily seen as a
trojan though. So once again a warning: Never download (or
accept via an instant messaging product like ICQ) programs that people
you do not know in real life. If a person claims to be a
Tugsoft, Inc employee they WILL ALWAYS have an <name>@tugsoft.com
email address and most times the UOAssist@tugsoft.com
email address will be used for all UOAssist related email. Do
not download supposed 'beta' or 'add-on' products claiming to be from
Tugsoft unless it is right off the Tugsoft website, any other source
is a fake and most likely contains a trojan. It is a good idea
to run an anti-virus program and keep it up to date but even these
products will not catch all trojans/virus programs so use safe
download practices to protect your machine and information.
Jan 11, 2001
Jan 2, 2001
Dec 28, 2000
12-20-00
12-4-00
11-6-00
11-2-00
10-28-00
10-27-00
-
Here is the easiest method I have come up with to
recover from the bad updateace.dll problem.
-
Make sure UOAssist is not running.
-
First Uninstall UOAssist
-
Second - reinstall UOAssist
-
NOTE - If you do not uninstall before running UOAssist
it will not think it needs to be installed. If you click on the
link above and say 'run from current location' and have not
uninstalled most likely UO will get started and UOAssist won't be
running. Make sure you uninstall first. If you make sure
you pick the 'None- leave all settings' options during the uninstall
your key(s) and settings you had for UOAssist will not be removed.
10-25-00
-
First, sorry for the worst update in UOAssist history.
-
Here is how to recover from the update problem.
-
Make sure UO Auto-map is not running.
-
Make sure UOAssist is not running.
-
Delete UpdateAce.dll from your UOAssist directory.
-
Delete UOAssist.exe from your UOAssist directory.
-
Download this UOAssist.exe
and run it
-
Troubleshooting if you do the above and still have
problems -
-
Hit the settings button (bottom right of the
update screen) - the version for UOAssist.exe should be 1.5.2.2
-
10-23-00
-
A few problems have been found and corrected with the
new UOAssist.exe that was posted.
-
The problems some had were - UOAssist wouldn't appear
on the screen after updating, UOAssist would display a 'startup error'
when exiting UO, and a couple had a problem with an illegal program
instruction error being displayed when the news was being
displayed. All of the above have been fixed. You can
manually download the new UOAssist.exe from the Updates page. If
you are getting the illegal program error download the new
UOAssist.exe and delete the UpdateAce.dll in your UOAssist directory.
10-23-00
10-19-00
9-28-00
-
The week of updates continues. OSI released a
new client so a new UOAssist.dll has been posted.
-
NOTE -- You must have client version 2.0.2 to log in
successfully. If you have problems with UO patching up here is a
url to info from OSI.
-
If you have problems with the UOAssist updater getting
version 1.16.11 of UOAssist.dll you can get the full install from the Get
It Now page and reinstall (no settings will be lost). But if
you can explain in detail what happens and when the updater fails I'd
like to get a message so it can be looked into. Please include
how you connect to the internet (modem, dsl, cable...) and if you go
through a firewall or proxy server. Email
here
-
Also there is a Japanese module for UOAssist available
and other languages are in the works. Here is a link to the languages
page.
9-26-00 The sun is up now - Tug
-
If you can run UO fine but are having problems with
UOAssist send a email even if you did already last night. Since
over 200 emails were received many of them that seemed to be
concerning the patch were deleted after the problem was resolved.
-
If you can not run UO without UOAssist you'll need to
get that working first. The version UO (client.exe) displays
should be 2.0.0g.
9-26-00
9-25-00 (3rd update)
9-25-00 (2nd update)
9-25-00
8-10-00
We will monitor the Chesapeake shard on Wednesday, August 9th, and
will then proceed to publish all remaining
shards. All remaining North American (excluding
Siege Perilous and AOL Legends), Japanese, and European UO shards
will have the publish active following their Thursday,
August 10th (local server time) maintenance
period. The publish will be active on the Korean, Taiwanese,
Australasian, Siege Perilous, and AOL Legends shards following their
Friday, August 11th (local server time) maintenance period.
7-21-00
-
UOAssist now supports languages other than
English. Currently there is a Japanese module available.
More information is available on the Language
page. (NOTE: An updated Japanese module was posted at
9:30pm MST)
-
For those that used the test files and noticed the
'Pickup agent' and now are wondering where you can find it - you
can't. OSI would not approve the pickup agent (the only extra
feature it provided was the pickup bag) so it was removed.
7-20-00
7-10-00
-
It seems that OSI changed the ID's for many items in
UO with the update they made on Saturday. This means you'll need
to recount resources (NumLock is default) and reset all bags (disarm,
undress, hot sell, recycle, vendor...) in UOAssist as well as any items set for the Use
Once agent. You should reset your arm settings and dress
settings.
7-3-00
6-23-00
-
Do not attempt to order (paid for or trial) a key for
non-OSI shards. The order system will reject all such orders
(and always has) even if you use the 'old' order forms that allow you
to completely fill out the order. Also as the Locate Key page
already says it will NOT give you a key to use on non-OSI shards.
-
A challenge for non-OSI shard people that want
UOAssist support resumed. Here is
the link.
6-20-00
-
In the past steps have been taken and extra code added
to UOAssist so it would work better (or at all in some cases) with
non-OSI shards. As explained below, because of the last update to
the UO client the non-OSI servers would not work (with the latest
client). UOAssist was updated to work with the latest client as
the paying customers would expect. Most of the people that play on
non-OSI shards and use UOAssist for free understood this and had no
problem with it. But a few have decided that Tugsoft is a bunch
of 'colorful metaphors' because UOAssist works with the latest client
and old versions of UOAssist are not provided to them. Because
of such messages all code in UOAssist that was there to work with non-OSI
shards is being removed. The free keys that were on other tools
page are also being disabled. UOAssist will no longer work on non-OSI shards
even when/if they update to work with the current client.
Tugsoft has no desire to get such emails from people for whom we
provided a free service so the service has been removed.
6-14-00 2nd update
-
Almost daily we get emails that have bad return email
addresses in them. If you are not receiving replies to inquiries
most likely that is the reason why. Check your email package and
make sure the reply email address is set correctly. If we can't
just hit the reply button to sent you a reply most likely you won't
get one.
-
On non-OSI server support: UOAssist is designed
for and tested on OSI shards. Recent updates to UO and UOAssist
have made it so neither the current version of UOAssist or current
client.exe (UO) will work with the non-OSI shards. We do not
keep compiled versions of 'old' UOAssist.dll's around so please don't
ask for an old version. UOAssist will not work on any server
that can not use the latest client.exe (2.0.0d) from OSI.
6-14-00
6-3-00
6-1-00
5-31-00
5-26-00
5-15-00
5-12-00
-
A change OSI made in version 2.0.0a of the client has
made it so the current version of UOAssist will not allow you to log
out of the game and then log back in until you shut down UO/UOAssist
and restart it. An update SHOULD be posted later today to
overcome that problem.
-
The logout/login problem has been fixed here and will
be released later today. The reason it has not been released yet
follows: An update of UOAssist was submitted for approval by OSI
a couple of weeks ago. Due to staffing/job duty changes and such
at OSI the update hasn't been reviewed to my knowledge. OSI was
emailed early this morning (like 1am) to see if the status of that
process could be determined today because of the needed update caused
by client 2.0.0a. Once news is heard on that an update will be
posted. Or if no news is heard an update will still be posted
later today but the new features OSI is reviewing will not be in it.
-
9:48 am update: OSI is going to fix the problem
on there end it seems. Wasn't given a time/date of when that
will happen though. If it doesn't happen by this afternoon the
plan is to update UOAssist without the new features.
-
6:45pm - posted a new version of UOAssist. It
does contain a new vendor agent that was awaiting approval from OSI
(got that today). More details on the Updates
page.
4-19-00
-
If you are having problems typing certain letters in
UO like 'a' or 's' ... most likely you have features of UOAssist
assigned to those keys. You can go to the keys page and reassign
the key or turn on the 'pass onto uo' checkbox for that feature and it
will go back to working as it did before the update to UOAssist.
-
If you are having problems logging into the game and
get the error that the account name/password is incorrect or the
account doesn't exist most likely UO didn't update correctly.
Try logging on without UOAssist and if the problem still happens you
need to get UO updated correctly before you'll be able to log into the
game.
4-18-00
- UOAssist was updated to work with the latest patch from OSI.
More details on the Updates page.
4-12-00
- A new test uoassist.dll has been posted on the test
page. You can now 'lock' macro to prevent accidental
re-recording of a macro. Next to the macro #16 button you should
see a 'lock' button. When depressed the macro is 'locked'.
3-31-00
- A new test uoassist.dll has been posted on the test
page. It should correct problems with smelting colored items
going slowly. It was not tested with NPC made colored armor though
which is different. Also on the 'Keys' page in UOAssist that is a
new option to support IME (a utility used by those wishing to enter
multi-byte characters [Japanese ...]). Leave the option off unless
you need IME support.
3-23-00
- There is is a problem with smelting colored items that will cause it
to be very slow (ten seconds per item). This is being corrected
but most likely the fix will not be available until sometime next
week.
3-21-00
3-18-00
- Posted a test uoassist.dll. It changes all / commands to -
commands so they will work with the new group commands from OSI.
Visit the test page if you'd like to get it.
3-14-00
- Posted the latest dll. The major addition to it is keys are now 'read' differently
so UOAssist can use the numpad and other keys not allowed previously. This may cause
a few hotkey settings to become invalid. If you find one of your hotkeys is no
longer working check the Keys page in UOAssist and make sure it is still setup. More
info on the Updates page.
3-9-00
- Changed the time delay on the skills that OSI lowered the delay. This is currently
only in the latest test build. So if you want the change you will need to download
the test dll from the test page. There are other changes
in the test dll as well. The biggest is the way keys (hotkeys) are handled has
changed so more possibilities are now available. This MAY make it so you have to
reassign your hotkeys.
2-17-00
- It seems that UOAssist isn't working on TUS shards again. Some changes were put in
to make UOAssist work better on POL servers which seem to be causing the trouble. It
is being looked into and hopefully a test version with a fix will be available in a couple
of days.
2-15-00
- Pickup reagents has been approved and is back in with a few changes. It will only
attempt to pickup one reagent per keypress. Also you must stop moving for a short
period before trying to use the feature. More details on the Update
page.
- A common request people have asked for is that pickup reagents or something like it
pickup arrows and bolts. This is in the plans and should be in the next update (no
date at this time).
- A few people have noticed that smelting and repairing are slower than they used to be.
OSI changed some of the messages the server sent and it is causing the problem.
The next update (test or release) will be adjusted so the speed is back to
'normal'. BUT the agent is still working fine. If you are having problems with
it most likely you just need to recount resources (NumLock is default). Also the
recycle bag must be in your pack (not on the ground ...).
2-11-00
- Pickup reagents is still looking good and the last issue should be resolved soon.
I was hoping it would be completed by today so it could be back in for the weekend but
next week is more realistic at this point.
2-10-00
- It is looking good that pickup reagents will be 'approved' soon and put back in. A
few changes are being made and if all goes well it could be back in in a few days.
2-9-00
- A small update to UOAUpdate.exe was posted
today. Doesn't change any UOAssist features.
- Still seem to be having problems getting responses from OSI about the pickup reagent
feature. But a 'new' version of UOAssist has been submitted with that feature back
in for approval. A delay was added before the first reagent was attempted to be
picked up so you can't run and pickup reagents at the same time. It is not known if
that is the problem(s) OSI had with the feature because of lack of response to the
questions sent them. Part of the delay problem may be that a new person may soon be
assigned to review UOAssist changes. Hopefully the issue(s) can be resolved soon and
the feature put back. Like many of you I don't understand what the problem with the
feature could be.
2-2-00
- A reply was received to my inquiry about the problem OSI has with pickup reagents.
But to me the reason was very 'muddy' so I've asked for better clarification.
Also I have sent a possible change that could be made to see if that was more
'acceptable' to them. The change I suggested was to make a delay before the first
reagent was picked up. That way a player couldn't run/walk and pickup reagents at
the same time. This is an effort to slow down the gathering as that may be the
underlying problem OSI has with the pickup reagent feature.
2-1-00
- OSI sent a message saying that the pickup reagent feature needed to be disabled so it
has been. Contact with OSI was attempted but no success so far and no reason was
given. Once more information is known more details will be posted here.
1-28-00
- A few people were still receiving the warning that the data stream had changed so a new
patch has been posted that should help those people out.
1-27-00
- Changes that are causing a few problems. If you log into the game with one account
then log out and log in with another game account without shutting down UO you will see
the data stream error. Just ignore it and log into the game and it should work fine
for you. This will be looked into but it doesn't cause loss of function so it might
be a few days or even more.
- A new UOAssist.exe was put up as well to correct a problem some users using the 'old'
load method encountered opening their paperdolls.
1-26-00
- Updates have been posted to work with the new patch from OSI. Also a new feature
was added. More details on the Updates page.
1-25-00
- Posted a new test dll. It fixes the problem with logs not stacking. Also
makes it so arm/disarm/dress/undress will again attempt to finish when the server gives
the error 'You must wait to perform...'.
- Best of all though is new 'Pickup nearby reagents' feature. You need to setup a
hotkey for it on the Keys page. More details on the Update
page (coming soon section).
- You can get the new test uoassist.dll from the test area.
1-24-00
- The patch OSI made last week to the client and servers to support language specific
messages has broken a couple of things in UOAssist. Stacking of any item (ore, logs,
fish...) does not function right now but is being looked into and should be corrected this
week. Other things may have been affected (arm/disarm auto-retry on failure for
instance) and will also be examined and more information will be posted as more data is
gathered.
1-19-00
- Patch days always bring a lot of questions and problems both here at Tugsoft and I'm
sure for OSI as well. One of the most common problems this time is that people are
having problems patching UO itself.
- If UO doesn't get patched successfully you won't be able to log into the game with or
without UOAssist as the encryption was altered. Here is a help page at OSI to help with problems
patching UO.
- A few people had problems getting the UOAssist patch. You can get the full install
from the Get It Now page or just the new dll from the Updates page. If you have problems with either of those pages
hit the refresh key on your browser and try again.
1-18-00
- A new UOAssist.dll has been posted to adapt to the small change in the datastream.
It also has a few new feature listed on the Updates page.
12-24-99
- New test files have been posted. This update allows you to set the file that
UOAssist will launch to make it easier to use the test clients from OSI.
More
details are on the Update page and the files are available on
the test files page.
12-8-99
- Updated the help pages finally.
Actually they
are updated to the current test dll so if you look at them and things don't look like your
1.15.0 version of UOAssist that is why. You can get the test files by visiting the test section.
- Also if you wonder what all command line commands are available simply type /? or /help
and a list will be displayed. The list is getting quite long now so you'll probably
what to review them in your journal.
11-24-99
- Posted another test uoassist.dll in the test area.
The
skill list now displays with an up/down/lock indicator and by right clicking on the name
of the skill you can make lock changes.
- Added a new troubleshooting page and added a link to
the 'bar' on the left of this page.
- Also a reminder that emails won't be answered until next Monday (the 29th).
If you
are having problems please check the troubleshooting page
as it has most of the common questions asked.
11-23-99 2nd update
- Posted a new test uoassist.dll in the test area.
It
has a new feature that will help GM 'builders' when asked if they wish to mark an
exceptional item or not.
11-23-99
- Posted new exe and dll. Details on the Updates page.
11-22-99
- Tugsoft will be 'closed' from Nov 25th - Nov 28th for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Trials and Orders can still be submitted but no mail or email will be processed.
If
you lose your registered key use the 'Locate Key' link to get
it back. If you have submitted an order but were sent a trial you can fill out
another order and it will be processed or if you just reply asking to get the order
processed it will be taken care of on Nov 29th.
- There will be an update to UOAssist released when OSI releases the client update that is
scheduled for tomorrow. Later today the test version should be updated that reflects
the changes the full update will contain.
- Everyday around 10 replies don't make it back to the person who wrote the email to us
because the return and/or email address is not set correctly in the senders email package.
If you are having problems getting replies from uoassist@tugsoft.com most likely that is the
reason. Check your email package settings and correct them.
11-17-99
- A customer has emailed saying someone is claiming to have a beta of UOA2 and is offering
to share it. This is totally bogus - DO NOT accept any files from anyone making such
claims.
- On that note: Do you leave the key to your house, apartment, car ... in plain view
right next to the lock? I expect most people would not do any of those things yet
many still allow UO to save their account password. When your account password is
saved you are making it many times easier for someone to gain access to your account.
When saved the account password is stored encrypted BUT the encryption is
incredibly weak. Without even decrypting it they can log into the game and if they
do decrypt it they could access the account information and change your account password
and information. Ever since UO was released different criminals have been intent on
stealing others accounts. These criminals have used different techniques but a
popular one is to get the victim to run a program they give the victim.
They may
claim the program is a 'beta of UOA2', a self-displaying picture, a stat/skill editor, a
dup creator, ... but in reality it is a normally trojan that sends the criminal the
information needed to break into the victims account. Near the bottom of this page
you can read the posting from 8-3-99 which pertains to account
security.
11-15-99
- A few people have reported that while using the test files UOAssist starts UO back up
after exiting UO. Most likely this is happening because you don't have the latest
UOAssist.exe from the test area. Make sure you have that
and try again then let me know IF it is still a problem.
- A common problem people seem to be running into is the resource information in UOAssist
not being up to date. This is caused when you play UO without UOAssist running or
even play UO with UOAssist but on more than one machine. When UOAssist loses track
of current resources many things will stop working including anything to do with the
recycle bag, the sell agent, the resource count, macros that have use item type or target
type lines in them, use potion functions, bandage self function ...
If any of these
features don't seem to be functioning correct simply recount resources (default is
NumLock) so UOAssist can update itself. 11-16-99 addition - Server
warps can also cause UOAssist resource information to be wrong.
11-12-99
- Post a new test dll in the test area.
Added the
ability to convert a macro target command to target last target. All of the features
listed in coming soon section on the Update page are in the test
files.
11-4-99
- Posted a new dll in the test area. I changed the
skills back so they work on the 'normal' shards correctly again and now the list will be
incorrect on the test shard.
- Test files also contain more changes for TUS/UOX shard compatability.
- The current test exe and dll seem pretty stable and have some nice additions so if you
feel up to getting the files try them out. But remember you need both the new exe
and the new dll to function correctly. The install has an older dll in it so you'll
need to turn on test file updating or manually get the new dll.
11-1-99
- Posted a new dll in the test area. This should work
with UOX and TUS servers much better. Also a new key for TUS servers is on the Other
Tools page. Big thanks to GM Valeran from the TUS shard War of the Races for working
with me to get the TUS differences found. NOTE - UOAssist has not been tested much
on UOX/TUS shards so some things may not work correctly or may even cause the client to
stop responding totally.
10-29-99
- Seems a good number of people are playing on non-OSI servers and I've been getting a lot
of email questioning how to get UOAssist to work on those servers so here is an update.
- Sorry but the current version won't work at all as it won't detect you logging into the
game.
- I downloaded UOX and looked into the problem and have adjusted UOAssist so it will
detect it again the next test release I post will have the change in it (probably post
Monday)
- I attempted to get TUS to check it as well but the webserver that TUS was having
problems and the download failed. It was only coming at 200 bytes (no k or m in
there) per second to begin with so I didn't try again.
- BUT there are other problems with UOX at least. If an UOX developer would like to
write to UOAssist@tugsoft.com and ask what the
problems that I saw are I'd be happy to explain them. Until changes are made to UOX
(not sure about TUS) UOAssist will not work very well with it.
- When I do post a new version the 'skills' page will only work on the test center as
UOAssist has been updated for the changes coming from OSI (skill locks ...).
When
used on the other shards the skills will either be 0 or incorrect but the other features
will still work fine.
- With the changes coming regarding skill locks and data from OSI I was able to get the
'real' base values from the servers. And UOAssist was a bit off in its calculation.
In the testing I did it was off .0 - .3 for around 150 skill points so it could be
off around 2 or 3 full points when near the 700 point limit. Not huge but if people
wonder why they can only get to 697 base points or passed up the 'limit' and have 703
points that could be the explanation. I didn't look into it to see exactly what
skills were off and by how much since soon the data will come straight from the servers.
10-28-99
10-22-99
10-15-99
- Posted a new UOAssist.exe and UOAssist.dll (should get both if you want to try them).
They should resolve the problem a few users have reported that changes made to the
'keys' section aren't being saved. More information is on the Test page.
10-8-99
- Posted version 1.14.1 of UOAssist.dll. Details on the Update
Page.
10-6-99
- Version 1.14.0 of UOAssist.dll has been posted. Details are on the Update Page.
- Remember unattended macroing is against OSI policy and even if you are using an UOPro
program like UOAssist you can still get your account banned if you macro unattended.
OSI has stated both on their website
and on public message boards that they are stepping up efforts to catch unattended
macroers.
- Since OSI has announced they are stepping up efforts to remove unattended macroing a
reminder - UOAssist keys are not switched to new/different game accounts.
So if you
get your account banned and then purchase a new game account your 'old' UOAssist key will
not be switched.
10-5-99
- Version 1.14.0 of UOAssist.dll will be released tomorrow. Details of the new
features are on the Update Page.
9-28-99
- Added more information to the Coming Soon section on the Update
page. The new version has been submitted for approval. Once approval from
OSI is received it will be posted.
9-21-99
- Posted a new 'test' UOAssist.dll in the test area.
It
contains the features listed on the update page.
9-16-99
- I've been researching the CL and lag problems the past few days and this is what I've
found.
- 1st - the UUNet (shows as alter.net in most traces) to globalcenter peering (connection)
is not 'big' enough to handle the demand and packets are being dropped at all times I've
tested. A couple of times packets were being dropped along UUNet before reaching
globalcenter as well. So UUNet needs to fix there stuff up and UUNet and
Globalcenter need to work together to correct the problem they have at the 'border'.
The bad news is it is doubtful this will happen very fast as one normally blames
the other and they don't cooperate well because they are competitors.
This affects
all US based shards except GL, LS, SP and Test Center. If you connect via UUNet to
any of the other US based shards I'd expect you to have at leas sporadic lag and
disconnects. More of this during busy times. I wasn't able to test the other
major backbones like MCI and Sprint to see what they looked like.
- 2nd - The Texas based shards (GL, LS, SP and Test Center) also have packet loss problems
at least through UUNet peering. While the packet loss overall seems much lower it
seems to come in burst. I was able to play for over an hour with no problems and
then started losing connection often and in 'groups'. Then I'd play again for 15 or
so minutes no problems and get another lag freeze or even disconnect.
As 'prime
time' approached the connection lost problems increased until I decided it was time to
stay in town. I asked others and many were experiencing the same problems.
So
during I'd expect you to have lag pauses and disconnects if you traverse the UUNet
backbone and possibly other backbones as well. If you play from 5pm - 1am MST I'd
expect you'd notice more of these problems than when you play outside those times.
- On ghosting problems people have reported. I was able to experience this first
hand today for the 2nd time. I don't know how to force reproduce this but will be
sending a report on my findings to hopefully help them (I was in a 'safe' area and was
able to test for a while:).
- There is no need to email me about the ghosting problem as it is a problem in UO itself
and happens to people when not using UOAssist. That goes for the lag/disconnects as
well. From my experience and testing they seem to be connection problems or possibly
the servers dumping connection (which happened in the past) but I lean much more toward
actual connection problems. Even if your trace utility reports 0% packet drops you
need to look at the actual number of packets sent and received. If they don't match
you have drops. Also you need to do at minimum 100 'pings' to get a decent reading.
9-10-99 early morning (12:24 AM)
- Well this time the 'quick' connection lost problems were totally in UOAssist because of
a stupid mistake on my part. Anyway, version 1.13.3 is up and corrects the problem.
Sorry for the headaches this probably has been causing.
9-9-99
- UOAssist has been updated for the latest client and posted. More details are on
the Updates page.
- If you still have connection lost problems most likely it is really a connection
problem. Last night I did some traces and found that global center was dropping up
to 50% of the pings sent through its network. This varies throughout the day but any
packet loss will cause problems and the more loss the more problems.
If enough
packets are dropped you will suffer a 'connection lost'.
- As always, if the auto-updater has problems on your machine try rebooting (helps if
UOAssist.dll is 'stuck' in memory so it can't be overwritten) or download the full install
from the Get It Now page and reinstall.
- NOTE: -- if you have been playing without UOAssist for a few days or even minutes
make sure you recount resources so the information is correct.
9-8-99 2nd update
- OSI seems to be planning an update to deal with all of the connection lost problems.
Once that happens UOAssist should no longer 'magnify' the underlying problem which
is causing the cl's.
- Some people have been having problems when switching accounts or even characters.
I wasn't able to reproduce the problem but I've made changes that should clear up any
problems. BUT this may also cause problems for people using UOAssist on
non-OSI
shards. If it does I recommend the shard 'admins' or programmers
use the same
ports for both 'login' and 'game' servers as OSI.
9-8-99
- More information on connection lost (CL) problems - UOAssist may be causing some CL
problems and a test UOAssist.dll is in the test area to try
out. There are 2 main 'types' of CL's people are having. One is caused by
actual connection problems with the server. The symptoms of this are slow moving
and/or stuttered movement, not being able to move much at all for a period and finally
freezing for 20 or so seconds and then getting the CL 'gump' in UO.
Sometimes you
won't have problems moving or doing things before you actually lose connection but in most
cases you will when the problem is an actual connection problem. The symptom of
UOAssist interfering is everything is moving normally and all of the sudden (no
delay/freeze) the CL 'gump' in UO appears. I was able to reproduce UOAssist causing
2 CLs in 3 hours of heavy UO activity and believe the UOAssist.dll in the test area will correct that problem.
- On the freezing but not getting a CL. People are having this problem when using
'plain' UO (client.exe) as well and I'm not sure of the cause. This may be related
to the ghosting problems people have been having which also happens without using
UOAssist.
9-7-99
- I've received lots of email over the weekend because many people are having problems.
- 1) The main Tugsoft webserver started misbehaving and not allowing or not processing
trials or orders for a day it seems. This has been corrected, sorry for the trouble.
- 2) Some people haven't been able to download the full install (which comes from a
different server with more bandwidth). I tried it and it worked fine today, if you
still have this problem let me know and I'll double check it.
- 3) A few people are becoming 'frozen' in the game. The can see people moving but
they can't move or do much. I haven't seen this myself but did get a couple of
people to run without UOAssist for a couple of days and it still happened to them so it
seems this is a problem in UO. You may want to delete UO and reinstall incase a file
became corrupt causing this problem. Also remember, on problems like this running
without UOAssist for a few minutes or even an hour and not seeing the problem usually
isn't good enough. You need to run for a day or two as it seems to be a randomly
occurring problem.
- 4) Connection lost problems. Lots of people having this problem and it is all over
the 'boards' also as a big problem. My experience currently is I have packet loss
problems to most all of the US based shards which is not normal for me.
But to the
servers in Japan I have no packet dropping problems and run great on those servers.
To make matters worse (for detection) is I'll run fine some times during the day and then
start having problems. And even when things are 'bad' it comes and goes, I'll have
no packets being dropped for 10 or 15 or even 45 minutes and then some will start dropping
again. I am currently testing UOAssist by playing for extended periods (2 hours or
more) on the Japan servers to make sure it isn't UOAssist causing the problem.
- 5) -- Picking up bags and putting them in your pack causes UOAssist to recount all bags
and messes resources count up. This is fixed and the test
area has a new dll for download.
9-2-99 5th update
- A couple of problems have been found in the update and a new version has been posted
with the bug fixes. For details see the Updates page.
9-2-99 4th update
- OK the update has been posted. New features are listed on the Updates page.
- As always, if the auto-patcher has problems get the full install from the Get It Now page and reinstall.
9-2-99 3rd update
- The new agent is being removed again. A bug in the client was fixed which allowed
the new agent to 'macro' unattended so it had to come back out. But all other
features were OK'd and an update will be posted around 4:30pm MST if internal testing goes
good after removing the new agent again.
9-2-99 2nd update
- UOAssist has been updated for the new client and is now at OSI waiting for
reapproval.
Hopefully the turn around will be quick. It does contain the new agent I've
written about before and the updates listed on the Updates page.
- Remember - if the auto patcher fails when the patch is posted you can get the new
UOAssist.dll from the Updates page or get the full install from
the Get It Now page.
9-2-99
- The datastream has been altered again. Working on an update now and will post news
when more is known or it is fixed. Please don't email about this as it just slows
things down and I already have over 200 emails letting me know it isn't working.
8-28-99
- A new test dll has been put on the test page with a fix for
fish stacking problems and a couple of new features (not the new agent though).
8-27-99
- A few things people seem to be encountering
- 1) Names appearing 2 times above heads. Reason - OSI added a feature called always
show names (I think) which is much like Show Incoming Names. It is on by default so
both UOAssist and UO are requesting the names of people. Turn off the feature in
UOAssist or UO to solve that problem, by disabling it in one of the program it MAY help a
little with lagging while in areas with people/creatures.
- 2) Having problems starting up UO. There is some problem saving macros that
contain the UO arm/disarm it seems. I don't know many details but have been told
that if people have a problem starting UO and they had saved arm/disarm macros in UO that
they need to edit their macros.txt and remove all of the lines for any arm/disarm macros
they set.
8-26-99
- Plain embarrassing. More bugs have been located and corrected in the latest
UOAssist.dll. You can get a test version on the test page
that contains the fix to make it so you can record macros 9-16 and fix the display problem
when switching away from the Agents page.
8-25-99 5th update (busy day)
- A few users quickly found that 1.12.0 had a problem with the extra macros.
You
could select a macro 1-8 and then select a macro 9-16 and it would appear both were
selected. That has been fixed and if you happen to have that problem you'll need to
get the update from the Updates page to correct it (1.12.0.1). Another display
problem has been found as well and I'm looking into it. The last version digit (4th
digit) isn't shown on the UOAssist screen, the only way to see it is to use explorer and
right click on the file, then select Properties and click the Version tab.
- Also, if after updating UOAssist.dll you have problems with UOAssist not loading or
giving an error on loading most likely the UOAssist.dll you received was corrupted in
transit. Download the full install from the Get It Now page or UOAssist from the
Updates page again.
- Tugsoft's internet connection is running near or at full saturation currently so updates
might be suffering. In a few hours or at least by tomorrow that condition should
correct itself as people get updated. If you have problems connecting to the Update
server or getting the download, try again. Sorry for the inconvenience this may
cause some of you.
8-25-99 4th update
- UOAssist has been reapproved (without the new feature) and has been posted.
8-25-99 3rd update
- Updated status - The new feature has been removed and UOAssist resubmitted.
OSI
needed more time to review the new feature. The plan is to get a quick approval now
and resubmit with the new feature later. Until the new feature is approved the
nature of it won't be revealed.
8-25-99 2nd update
- The status currently is UOAssist is awaiting reapproval from OSI.
I'm hoping that
will occur quickly but they are very busy as expected for a major patch day.
If no
response comes after an extended period (did I sidestep a deadline good:? )
I'll
post the update but it won't be UOPro until OSI approves it. There is a new feature
in the update that isn't listed on the updates page which I'm holding off announcing until
OSI remarks on the new feature.
8-25-99
- Plans for this patch day. Once the patch to UO is available and one of the servers
becomes available to the public UOAssist will be tested to make sure it functions.
If there is a problem it will be worked on and a patch should become available in a short
period of time. There is no need to email Tugsoft if there is a problem because by
the time you email it will probably already have a solution or at least be in progress
toward a solution. The emails will just be a burden that slows progress.
8-13-99
- Battle Vortex has put out a new show featuring
Lum the Mad. Also they are holding a contest and giving away an UOAssist
registration as the prize.
8-3-99
- Just a reminder about account security.
- Don't save your password. This is a simple and pretty effective
way to protect yourself.
- Don't download files from sources you don't know as 'clean'.
If someone is
offering you a program that is too good to be true it probably is just that.
An
example would be a program that allows you to alter your skills or stats in
UO. Don't download such programs because it will contain a virus or trojan almost guaranteed.
- People you traveled with once or twice and exchanged ICQ's shouldn't be considered as
'close trusted' friends so don't accept an EXE's from them.
- Some people package pictures as EXE's. Don't accept them, often they contain a
trojan or virus as well. Make them give you the file in picture format (like jpg or
gif) or better yet have them post it on the web so you can view it at your
convience.
- I just saw a posting for a program that would allow 2 copies of UO to run on one machine
at the same time. While there have been 'legit' programs that did this there now
seems to be someone spreading a trojan saying it does this feature.
Just so you
know, even with such programs UOAssist will not run in this mode.
Be wary of the
free web pages like Xoom. They do sometimes have legit utilities on them but many
also contain virii or trojans.
- Use an up to date virus scanner. But even with this you can become 'infected' as
new trojans and virii are release often so the scanner can miss some.
- Here is a link to OSI's internet security faq,
take some time and review it.
7-29-99
- Posted a test version of UOAssist.dll in the test area.
It contains all of the changes listed in the coming soon section of the Updates page.
7-28-99
- There is a confirmed problem with the latest version of UOAssist (default settings) and
the software package 'Guard Dog' by Mcafee. Mcafee is being contacted to see how
best to solve the problem but for now you can either disable Guard Dog or do the follow:
-On the UOAssist Update screen push the 'Settings' button in the bottom right corner. Then
change the load method to 'old'.
-If you only update once per day use the start menu and go to the UOAssist shortcuts. Then
select the Force Update Check option so you get the update screen and can make the change.
- If you are having trouble getting UOAssist loading with the last version and don't have
Guard Dog also try the above steps and it should work fine. Or try shutting down
other programs you might be running at the time and see if that helps.
- The help pages have been updated.
7-27-99
- A BIG warning for one of the new features. If you set disarm to a bag up and then
disarm your spell book it will go into the bag and not your main pack. That means
you can't cast spells from it and could lose it if you die. BE VERY careful if you
do that. I'll get it changed so that doesn't happen in the next update.
7-27-99
- UOAssist has been updated - details on the Updates page.
- A big thanks to OSI for very quick re-approval on this update.
- The help pages will be updated this week to reflect the new features.
7-16-99
- Today the main Tugsoft server (web and UOAssist update server) was having hardware
related problems. The problem has been mostly corrected but more work needs to be
done. So tomorrow morning ( 5am - 6am MST) the server will be up and down a bit
while the work continues. Sorry for any inconvenience this trouble may have caused.
6-29-99
- Added UO Automap and UO Character tracker to the Other Tools
page. Also put a new key on the Other Tools page for
UOX based servers.
6-22-99
- If you have entered an order (for a trial or registered key) and don't get an email by
the next day most likely you put a bad email address on the order form. Please be
very careful. If this does/did happen to you and you were getting a registered key
you can use the 'Locate Key' link in the left column on this page to get your key the day
after your order was placed.
- People going through proxy servers may be happen to hear if you get the test version of UOAssist I've been told SocksCap32 does now work
with UOAssist running as well. I haven't tested it myself and don't offer support
for getting them to work together but if you want/need to do it get the test version.
This should be true of many of the 'auto-socksifier' programs like Autosocks,
SocksCap32 and others.
6-16-99
- Test versions of UOAssist are now available to try. There is a link on the Updates page and here it is as well.
- If you have problems trying to get UOAssist working with the latest NT 2000 beta or have
had your machine reboot after exiting UOAssist you can try the test version out. It
contains no new game related features at this time.
6-15-99 2nd update
- There is some confusion on the use of 'last target' in UOAssist. I have emailed
OSI about this to try and clear up what they are saying to people about last target.
From the responses I've received it isn't last target that OSI is concerned about
but unattended macroing or using last target to exploit a bug (I don't know of any that
still exist).
6-15-99
- If you are wondering how to use UOAssist with one of the 'test' clients from OSI here is
some help. First make sure you backup your current client.exe in your UO directory.
Then put the test client in your UO directory and call it client.exe. That is
all it takes.
- If you are running NT 2000 beta 3 build 2007 or later UOAssist doesn't load correctly.
I have a version working here and plan to post a test release today or tomorrow.
6-9-99
- UOAssist gains UOPro approval! Visit the OSI web page to read the official announcement.
- What does approval mean? First updates will be less often but most likely more
features per update. All updates must be resubmitted for approval and won't be an
automatic download until approval is granted unless something changes that breaks UOAssist
(encryption changes). You don't have to worry about being banned for using UOAssist
but if you break other guidelines while using UOAssist you can still be banned.
6-2-99
- Posted UOAssist.dll 1.10.3.3. Has a few fixes in it and the range of show incoming
was increased. To get it you'll need to manually get UOAssist.dll from the Updates page or get the full install from the Get It Now page as it isn't an auto-update.
- There should be news on the approval process next week.
5-26-99
- As many have discovered UOAssist can't macro the new tinker menu. I'm looking into
the changes made so an update can be made.
5-25-99
- A warning to miners. It seems OSI is now targeting miners that auto stack ore for
bannings.
5-24-99
- I'm back and going through the email currently. I should be able to get replies
out today or tomorrow.
- 1.10.4 was submitted to OSI without the continuous feature before I left and as news is
received on it I'll post it.
5-10-99
- The voting is over. The yes's won with 2013 votes to no's 1469 votes. A
version of UOAssist without the continuous feature will be submitted to the approval
process. If it still isn't approved you'll never see that version at all.
- Also, I (Tug) will be out of the office until May 24th. Trials and orders will
still be processed but most email won't be answered until I get back. If you submit
an order but you don't receive a reply the best thing to do is try the 'Locate Key' link
the next day to see if it finds your key for you. You can also submit another order
as the order system is setup to detect multiple orders for the same seed/game account and
will not charge more than once. Make sure you put the correct email on all trials
and orders as that is the most common reason for not getting a response. If you
submitted an order and received a free trial and decide you do want the order to go
through you can reply stating such or fill out another order form. There will be
people going through the email for items like that but again most email will be on 'hold'
until I get back in the office.
5-8-99
- Posted 1.10.3.1 of UOAssist.dll. Fixes problem where power words wouldn't display
if you were using the text color feature. This is a 'mini' patch so you must get it
manually from the updates page or get the full install from the Get It Now page.
5-7-99
- One clarification. If continuous is removed in a future version for approval
submission that version will not be a forced update until it is actually approved.
If it isn't approved it will be like that version never existed.
5-6-99 3rd update
- Posted version 1.10.3 of UOAssist.dll. Details are on the Updates
page.
- Voting continues to be very close. Voting will end Monday morning as plenty of
votes have been placed. I have received a few emails from people that won't load
UOAssist because it isn't approved so they can't vote but do wish that UOAssist would be
approved so they could use it. The plan was not to exclude this group of people from
the vote but I didn't want any ballot stuffing and the method being used was the best I
could come up with to avoid that problem.
5-6-99 2nd update
5-6-99
- Over 1000 votes have been taken so far and it still is very close. This morning
when I checked the No's were in the lead but only by a few votes. Since this is a
hot issue I'll be putting up a page later today so you can view the live results of the
voting later today.
- Many people are suggesting that I take continuous out and put in a limited amount of
repeats. So you could run a macro say 50 times but that is it. I'll pass that
by OSI and see what they say but don't let that change your voting as I doubt I'll get a
response for a while.
5-5-99 2nd update
- There was over 100 votes in the first hour of it being available and it has been very
very close. Sometimes 'Yes' is ahead and then a vote or two later 'No' takes the
lead and then later 'Yes' is back ahead. So your vote does count.
5-5-99
- The vote page is now available. Please take the time to
make your choice known on the remove continuous macros in an attempt to become approved or
not. Again visit the vote page to cast your
vote.
5-4-99
- News came from OSI today. It does seem that the only 'problem' left with UOAssist
is the continuous option in the macro section. They don't mind macros just
unattended macroing as stated on their website. So the plan is to finish up 1.10.3
and release it with continuous still in for all of you to use. I'll also make a
1.10.x (x = 4 or 5) with no continuous feature so it is ready for submission. I'll
try to get the vote page (to see if users care about approval if only the continuous
option is removed) up tomorrow. Then votes will be taken over the weekend and if
enough votes are submitted (a few hundred is enough for me) by next Monday (5-10-99) the
results will be posted.
5-3-99
- Still no information at all from OSI.
- Someone has been sending boards and posted bad information on UOAssist. They
report that they have seen a message of something like 'UO catching UOAssist users'.
Actually the message is an UOAssist message and it is 'UOAssist catching UO
bugs...'. This message is displayed whenever UO is crashing and UOAssist was not
able to stop the crash. Currently there is a bug in UO itself that randomly causes
crashes when you simply move items around. The bug has been around for a month or so
and OSI is aware of it and hopefully it will be fixed soon. There are also other
client crashing bugs in UO that have been there since at least beta as well. These
bugs happen without UOAssist running as well.
4-28-99
- Sent another reminder to OSI to get questions answered I sent a couple of weeks ago.
4-22-99
- Someone is spreading a 'crack' for UOAssist. According to Norton AntiVirus it
contains a trojan/backdoor they named as 'backdoor.trojan'. I highly doubt the
program works as a crack of UOAssist at all and in fact is just a way to get your UO
password and access to your machine.
4-20-99
- OSI finally posted the 'macro' policy. You can read it at Gamemaster support.
- My first thoughts on the policy.
I think it will be yet another issue that will
fade away or be changed. The reason I feel that is OSI doesn't seem to have a real
destination in mind for the game or upgrades to the game. I believe that because of
experience of working with OSI for the past year. An example, last summer OSI
mentioned they'd like to add last target to the client. Then a while back they come
out with the 'last target is your last game' policy (btw - what really seemed to take
place was banning in town macroers, not banning people using last target). Now they
are back to the we plan to add last target into the game. Today they put up the
policy on macroing but on Usenet DD just recently stated he'd like to add scripting into
the client.
The reasoning given in the new macroing statement seems extremely weak. I quote,
"Many people who play UO are not willing to pay for these programs...".
So? There are more FREE macro programs available and in use than ones like UOAssist
that cost a little money. Soon the 800x600 client should be on everyone's machine,
people that don't have hardware capable of running at that resolution will be at a
disadvantage, is OSI going to take it back out because people don't want to pay for a
hardware upgrade?
OSI also states that some people say they don't want to play in a 'world' where people
are allowed to macro. It is true that some players feel that way, I do wonder if
those same people are interested in limiting the number of hours people can play a day so
the playing field is more 'balanced' since many people can only play for a little time
each day or week.
They say that unattended macroing creates a problem in game but the only statement I
saw explaining what this problem might be is the few people that don't like it happening.
In my opinion that is an extremely weak reason unless the people they mention are a
majority and that I doubt. After all some people want a PvP switch, some people want
no penalties for mass murderers, some people want the original fishing revisions back, I'm
sure some people would like a god mode, and some people want to macro, what about those
people? I know the game is OSI's and they decide what happens but I do wish they
would think things through better and do things for a decent reason at least.
Seems to me the enforcement is going to be questioned a lot as well. What are
they planning to do for the people they banned for unattended macroing without warning in
the past? And if someone reports an unattended macroer but it turns out that the
macroer is not interfering with anyone's gaming experience are they going to flag the
reporters account for wasting GM resources and interfering with the macroers game?
- Still waiting on a reply to the question I asked OSI about removing the 'continuous'
option in the macro section. I sent a reminder to them today. IF they say they
believe UOAssist would be approved if that feature was removed I'll post the voting system
to see if the majority of UOAssist's user base would like it to be removed if it would get
approval. If it is voted that it should be removed I'll make a new version of
UOAssist without it and submit it. If it isn't approved it won't be posted.
4-15-99 (afternoon)
- Just a note to help some people out. If you order and don't receive a response
within 2 working days the 2 most common causes for this are a bad email address on the
order form (or trial form) and your email server being down or not accepting email for you
because your 'box' is full. You can use the 'Locate Key' link to get lost keys or
even your key the first time if there was an email problem IF you ordered, it will not
work for trial keys.
- On that note: I have tried to both originate and reply to emails to/from: ddelk@ddelk.presxxxxxxxx (note:the ending
is changed to keep it private). Please use 'Locate Key' to get your key. I
suggest you check your email system out as well your mail servers as it appears it is not
setup (domain not even alive).
- Also remember, if you do lose your registered key for any reason you can use the Locate
Key link on the left side of this page to get it back quickly.
4-15-99
- I still haven't found the OSI post about macroing so if you know where it is please let
me know. My guess is that is wasn't posted because of the problems encountered with
patching the servers yesterday. I sure hope it isn't another issue like last target
became where people at OSI didn't talk it over with everyone they should.
- Also, a few people are concerned that the continuous option in macros may get removed.
No need to worry about this at this point. I have sent an email asking OSI if
that option was removed if they would approve UOAssist but haven't received a reply.
I expect a reply in a week or two after I email them 3 or 4 more times first.
Then if they say it would or at least there is a very very good chance it would it
will be put to a vote to see if the majority of customers agree to the change. Even
if it was removed it is very easy to get around that with other macro systems available as
some have pointed out.
- OSI has approved another program so they are up to a total of 3 approved programs in a
mere 5 months. Hold on to your hats, they are fast movers.
4-14-99
- One thing 1.10.3 will have removed is the range checking on last target since OSI has
fixed the server side checks.
- On approval. Last Friday OSI finally decided that unattended macroing was the
reason UOAssist (or any other program with that ability) would not be approved this round.
Previous to that decision I had inquired to see if putting a check in UOAssist for
activity on the machine (mouse or keyboard activity) and if none was found for that past
30 minutes and a macro was playing the macro would halt. I just got word back today
stating that that wouldn't satisfy the requirement. They seem to want people to have
to press a button to make a macro run each time.
- OSI is planning to post more information on macroing today on their site. When
they do I'll put a link here to it.
3-30-99
- Version 1.10.2 of UOAssist.dll has been posted. Details on the Updates page.
3-27-99
- A week can change a lot. Why do I mention that? Wander over to Battle Vortex and listen to the latest show.
It was recorded the March 17th as a point of reference.
3-26-99 (2nd update)
- As some noticed 1.10.0 had a problem loading the 'selling agents' items so I fixed that
and posted 1.10.1.
- The next problem is tailoring. You can now record macros but this isn't helping
tailors because of the way the cloth disappears and reappears when you use some of it.
UOAssist can't keep track of that happening unless the macro is in memory so if you
have saved a tailoring macro and then reload it it won't be able to find the cloth if it
has been used at all when the macro wasn't selected (active). I'll get a fix for
this soon and hopefully post an update Monday that will fix that problem.
3-26-99
- UOAssist.dll version 1.10.0 has been posted. Details are on the Updates page.
- I'll be working on updating the online help with all of the new features as well.
- I've decided to stop submitting UOAssist for approval as OSI doesn't seem to have a clue
as to what they will accept or not at this point. They have a early 1.10.0 (doesn't
have all features in the version just made public) and I've told them they can get it from
the website if they really are interested in reviewing it.
- Here is the latest portion of the approval saga:
- A couple of weeks ago a new person was put in charge of the approval process. He
contacted me and explained things were going to change for the better. No more
waiting 30 days for them to look over submitted programs and so on. He knew that the
version they had to review wasn't the current version of UOAssist and asked how often I
update UOAssist. I told him I had been updated every week or two lately. That
was a concern as I knew it would be which is why I stopped submitting new versions to them
after 1.9.4. I explained that I was working toward a 1.10.0 quickly so once 1.9.4
was reviewed 1.10.0 would be ready to go. He asked when I thought that would be
ready. I told him the end of the next week (yes the exact day it actually was
released). All seemed good and he said he'd get it scheduled so it could be reviewed
quickly.
- Then the day before the 30 day period was up for version 1.9.4's review OSI changed the
encryption making 1.9.4 no longer function (and other 3rd party programs). After
realizing the incredible timing of that I wrote a person at OSI about that concern.
I was told that it was just a coincidence and I believe that this person truly believed
that statement. Whether it is true or not as far as the big picture goes I don't
know.
- Then OSI came up with last target problems that I'd need to change to get approval and
asked if I could have things ready by Wednesday the 24th which I agreed to but shouldn't
have as I had scheduled for the 26th and had told them that already. Now they wanted
me to add functionality and push the date up both. Of course I doubt they think
about things like that much. I had some other issues (features) so I emailed them
and happened to mention the last target changes as well. Well the person I emailed
wasn't aware that I was asked to make last target changes and was against it. So a
few people at OSI got together and decided that I didn't need to make the previously
requested last target changes.
- Still shooting for finishing 1.10.0 on the 24th as OSI requested I drop some features I
had planned for 1.10.0 and finish it up and sent it the night of the 23rd (with no last
target changes) expecting OSI to review it the 24th-26th as I was told. On the 24th
I am informed that OSI might now have another issue that has never been brought up before
and they didn't seem to know exactly what is the complete issue. I also found a bug
in the 1.10.0 (explained on the updates page) that I had submitted to them. So I
decided that since the version I had just submitted had no chance of being approved I
would fix it and add back in one of the features I skipped to get it submitted.
- So was this latest issue they come up with out of nowhere just another stall tactic?
To me it seems it is exactly that and I have had enough. I emailed OSI
letting them know I had had enough, and that I was going to let my customers decide if
they wanted Tugsoft to continue with the approval process because I have no desire to
continue. This is the reason that voting through the updater is coming. I have
received many emails on both sides of the whole approval is desired or it isn't issue and
since I don't believe it is worth the time and effort myself I'm going to get the feelings
from customers in an organized and fair method. I've been thinking of doing this for
some time now as the delays on approval have kept mounting. It should be known that
even if it is decided to stop working on getting approval from OSI altogether 'cheat'
features will still not be added to the product. The difference is Tugsoft will stop
considering input from OSI on what is a 'cheat' or unbalancing to the game. They
haven't been able to even decide what that is for the past 4 months and that pattern seems
to be continuing with no end in sight. Things like only updating UO once per day
will come back and may come back even before that decision is made as I need to update
UOAssist.exe anyway for voting.
- I find it highly ironic that during the approval process UOAssist and other programs
have been denied acceptance because of what OSI sees as bugs. The issues they point
out don't effect the programs functionality or any UO gameplay, just little minor things
like wording on an install program or a help button not in the place they'd like to see
it. I (and I'm quite sure a number of others) submitted a bug that will crash the
client way back in beta and again after shipping. I just tried it again and
wham, it is still there and has nothing to do with UOAssist. This bug happens each
and every time and crashes every machine I have tried and has been there for nearly 2
years now. And the current client is crash prone and has been for a few patches as
many know from first hand experience. I wish OSI would hold there own software to
the same standards they seem to hold 3rd party programs submitted for approval. I
hope they have been using the time supposedly scheduled to review UOAssist tracking down
these problems in the client.
- Many have asked if writing OSI could help in someway. Well I doubt it will help
but here is the email to try: submissions@owo.com.
If you do write them think about the content before sending off a UR L@ME letter as
those are meaningless to most people.
3-25-99
- UOAssist.dll version 1.10.0 will be released later tonight or tomorrow morning.
Along with the multiple macros and saving/loading there will be a new macro command as
well to help with using potions or other items.
- Approval news - Don't count on it this month.
- I'm working on a voting system that will work through the UOAssist update server.
This way information can be gathered quickly, easily and accurately on issues and
features. So another update will be coming soon there as well.
3-24-99
- Last target news - No changes will be made in 1.10.0 concerning last target. OSI
is double checking range checking in targeting on the server side to prevent any problems
with it. Once that is complete and on the public servers I'll remove the range
checking in UOAssist.
3-23-99
- So much for my effort to reduce email, maybe this will help.
- News - OSI is reconsidering the whole last target issue. It seems not everyone
there was aware that some felt changes to last target were needed. So now the
situation is being reviewed with more parties involved and some are strong last target
supporters.
- So I have version 1.10.0 all ready to go with no last target changes in it. Some
of the new features are multiple saved macros, a couple more monsters you can appear as,
stacking of logs, and one more that will save a TON of clicking for some people (secret:).
- I'm sending 1.10.0 with no last target changes to OSI tonight and should hear back from
OSI tomorrow to find out what they decided about last target.
3-22-99
- In an effort to reduce email I'll explain some things from my point of view. I do
realize that many people use 'Last Target' but disagree with many of you that claim that
is the 'only' reason mages use UOAssist. Even before UOAssist was first submitted
for approval people (UOAssist customers) suggested that I remove last target totally so it
would be approved. Nothing on the website prompted these messages, people (PvP
people even) just wanted to see UOAssist get approved even if it meant some functionality
was totally removed. Now that I've posted the changes that will be made I've
received messages from both sides once again. Most of the new messages are from
people that don't want any changes made to last target even if it means UOAssist won't be
approved. But I've also received a few from the other side suggesting I either
totally remove it or continue as planned. Overall the people wanting no changes to
last target are in a minority to those who want to see UOAssist approved even if last
target is changed or removed to keep the approval process going. I'd hope that
UOAssist customers and observers are aware that from the start I've worked with OSI to try
and make sure UOAssist wasn't viewed as a 'cheat'. The change to last target is
another step (hopefully the last) to get UOAssist 'approved' by OSI.
- So as it stands, I won't be responding to any of the emails concerning last target.
The change explained below will be put in unless OSI changes their mind.
3-19-99 (2nd report)
- OSI finally did call. They don't seem to have a firm grip on what they want done
to last target yet but this is what I'm going to try at their suggestion. I'm going
to make last target only work once if you are casting an offensive spell. Meaning if
you cast fireball last target will work then clear itself so it can't be used again until
you manually re-target, at least if you are targeting 'people' (this will include npc's as
well). Last target should still work as it does now with non-offensive spells and
when targeting monsters.
- Again, the change is for PvP last target use. In the new version a PvP battle
using last target and offensive spells could go like this: Cast spell, manually
target, cast spell, last target (clears target memory), cast spell, manually target (as
last target won't function), cast spell, last target...
- There is still no guarantee that will be all that is needed to get UOAssist approved but
one can hope.
- And OSI is going to make a good effort to put this new version through the approval
process much quicker than the 30 day period.
- I plan to make the changes and add a couple of new features and deliver the code to them
by start of business Wednesday (the 24th) so please hold of on any 'non-essenstial' email
(features I'm putting in are set, no time for others:).
- Remember if you have lost your key use the Locate Key link
on the left side of this page to find it. Also if you are having problems you
probably are using an old version. A good number of you seem to have multiple copies
installed, you only need one copy so delete them and install the last version from the Get It Now page. You must have version 1.9.8 of
UOAssist.dll or it won't work.
3-19-99
- Approval news (sort of at least) - OSI has realized (it seems) that the approval process
wasn't working that great. So they have assigned a new person to head it up that is
'closer' to the people that actually do the testing for approval. I talked with this
person Wednesday. OSI may have a few issues with Last Target even though the email I
received before made it sound like the changes I made (range checking) were good and
acceptable. There main concern is game play balance which is what should be
expected. So we discussed possible changes or the possibility of no changes.
OSI is going to discuss this and other issues and get back with me (they say). Well
actually they said they would get back with me today but didn't so I'm posting this just
to let you know. Also please don't email asking what the last target changes might
be as OSI is going to decide what, if any, changes they'd like to see.
- Also I've been receiving a few emails and reading postings that seem to think OSI is
giving Tugsoft information on the encryption changes. This happens every time OSI
changes the encryption code and I suppose will continue. Once again I'll let you
know that OSI did not give Tugsoft the new encryption code or any code as far as that goes
and never has given any code at all to Tugsoft.
- As a side note: Today was the 30th day of the approval process for version 1.9.4
which was submitted Feb 17th 10pm. So did OSI change the encryption to force
UOAssist to be updated so it would have to wait yet ANOTHER month? I'd hope not but
it is very interesting timing I'd say. I have submitted the latest version once
again. Let the 30 day delay begin yet again.
3-18-99 (4th report 7:20 MST)
- Good and bad news
- Good - the new encryption takes a few less CPU cycles so the servers should have a
little more time to do other things.
- Bad - the client crash problem is still there so be careful, especially moving objects
around. This happens without UOAssist running as well and is not related to
UOAssist in any way.
3-18-99 (3rd report 6:50pm MST)
- Opps, the EXE wasn't smart enough to re-enable UOAssist so a new version has been
posted.
- Also I've received a lot of email about the encryption change and then the problem with
it still not started so I don't plan on answering it. SO if you had other questions
you'll need to send them again tomorrow or so if you don't get a reply. Because if I
think the message is just about the changes today I will delete the message:)
- OH - you'll need to restart UOAssist again after getting this update and if it doesn't
'hit' the UOAssist update server you'll need to use the Start Menu line to Force Update
Check.
3-18-99 (2nd report 6:00pm MST)
- Posted the update, it should auto-patch for you or if that has a problem (which it still
does with proxy servers and some firewalls) download the files from the Updates page or the full install from the Get
It Now page.
3-18-99 (1st report of day 5:30pm)
- As you probably know OSI changed the data stream (encryption) again. I have
figured that out but they also seem to have changed a couple of other things so I'm making
adjustments to UOAssist for those at this time. I fully expect an update for the
changes tonight.
3-13-99
- Posted version 1.9.7 on the Updates page.
- Also the shutdown of Tugsoft I mentioned is only for the one day to go watch the movie.
3-12-99
- OSI is starting up a major 'quest' again it seems. Lord British is in the castle
and will 'talk' with you if you go visit him in one of the studies. And to Richard
Garriot, I offer to buy you an upgrade to T2A since it seems Lord British doesn't have it
yet:)
3-11-99
- Goosebumps - got them watching the new trailer for The Phantom Menace. I do
believe Tugsoft will be shutdown on May 19th:)
3-10-99
- On the recent (last few patches) crashing problems. I've been able to reproduce
the crash now on multiple machines and multiple OSes both with and without UOAssist
running. I've sent the little information I have on the cause to OSI and hope they
will correct the problem soon. For now know that moving objects around can result in
a crash so be careful. Just to be clear, this is not an UOAssist problem so please
don't email me about it. If you don't use UOAssist you will still crash as the
problem is in client.exe (UO). Patch 'h' from OSI does not fix the problem either.
Some people are finding version 'g' more stable.
- Still no word on approval.
- Still working on enhancing the macro section of UOAssist.
3-5-99
- Put news on version 1.9.6 on the Updates page. (UPDATE:
version 1.9.6 is now available on the updates page.)
- Looked back to see when exe version 1.1.8 and dll version 1.9.4 were submitted with the
new install. It was Feb 17th at 10:03PM so I expect a couple more weeks before
hearing anything about the submission.
3-4-99
- I have finally found a way to reproduce the Explorer crashing after exiting UOAssist
problem and the startup of UOAssist problem a few have seen 'Pager Initialization error
2'. I also have found a way to avoid both problems and hope to finish additional
work/testing on the new UOAssist.exe sometime in next week or two. The problem only
exists on Win9x platforms it seems (of course that is the most popular) and the way I've
found to reproduce them should be a very very rare occurrence. Also ICQ is not part
of the problem at all.
- Still no word from OSI on approval of UOAssist. My guess is word will come very
near the end of the 30 day period after submission.
- Version 1.9.5 has a few UI problems which I've corrected locally. I am working on
a few new enhancements and then plan to release an update sometime next week. Of
course this could change but that is the plan.
2-26-99
- Version 1.9.5 of UOAssist is available on the Updates page
now. It is a small update as I needed to get the 2 new skills in the skill list
before the email about them overruns me.
- Still no word from OSI about anything.
- Those of you having crash problems especially when moving containers around. Try
playing without UOAssist for a while and repeating the same actions and I think you'll see
the problem is the latest patches from OSI. Please do this before writing Tugsoft.
2-25-99
- The 2 new skills (stealth and remove trap) are not listed in version 1.9.4 but will be
in the next update.
- If you notice more crashes in game than before try the game without UOAssist for a day
or two and see what happens. I believe the latest code from OSI may have problem on
certain configurations. You might want to reinstall UO also to see if that helps.
- And more complaints about the approval process. The biggest problem is turn around
time (I think I've mentioned this before:). Now they have added 2 new skills so I
must update UOAssist to reflect the changes and resubmit then wait 30 days again.
Not gonna do it. I will release an update in the next day or so but I'm not
submitted any new versions until I hear about the version currently in OSI's hands.
So if the version they are reviewing actually gets approved this year sometime it will be
posted even though it will be out of date so people can use the approved version if
desired (this means the auto-updater won't update past the latest approved version and new
versions will have to be downloaded manually).
- The saga:
- Back in August when OSI originally revealed the 3rd party utility program the agreement
was totally outrageous (asked for full rights to all source code, meaning they could
compile it and distribute it themselves or even sell it to others among other things).
No 3rd party developer would agree to that and actually the way I found out it was
even available was reading the postings that cried of foul play posted on the 'boards' and
mostly by people that weren't involved with a 3rd party utility. So OSI (thanks to
DD mostly I believe, who had nothing to do with the original agreement) held a discussing
via email and one IRC chat to work on a new agreement. Well finally after 3 months
they had something that was acceptable. During the discussions OSI people made it
sound like utilities that already existed would be 'rushed' through the approval process
because of all of the delays.
- UOAssist was submitted as soon as the agreement was available (Nov 23rd via overnight
mail and email as well). After asking for what was happening I received the FIRST
response on Dec 22 at 4:48pm. Here is the reason they gave
for denying approval. As mentioned in that message I did receive a message from
Raph with more explanation. Here is that explanation.
So I coded in range checking that very night and resubmitted UOAssist. I did
get an email back from Raph (this is Designer Dragon for those wondering) at 8:29am 12/23
(early the next morning) which confirmed they received the update as it was a reply to the
message I sent. In it he seemed surprised that I would change UOAssist so quickly
and also warned that the holidays would most likely delay the approval and later I heard
there was an ice storm which kept people out of the office. This was totally
understandable but disappointing at the same time as I wished to get UOAssist approved
before 1999.
- Now remember in the first response the ONLY thing mentioned as holding UOAssist back was
last target and those issues *really* were on OSI's end. After the holidays I again
had to email OSI to see what was happening. I got a response 1/12/99 stating 'As I
understand it, you did complete all changes you were asked to make.' But then they
also listed new problems. And they incorrectly stated that as a matter of contract I
had to supply a list of all features. In reality the agreement I signed never
mentions this and I pointed that out to them in a reply but I supplied the list to them as
I could understand how it would help. Two new issues were also brought up in the
message. First the ability to only check for UO updates once per day (seemingly they
wanted people to always see the messages on the update server as it was mentioned in the
email) and second the ability to start multiple copies of UOAssist. Looking back I
probably caused a problem here as I resubmitted but only made it so multiple copies of
UOAssist wouldn't get started and explained they had the ability to display message in
game as people logged in and also that the last update to the message on the update server
was 2 months old.
- On 1/25/99 I heard back again. The message was that UOAssist had been put on the
calendar for testing but was subject to the 30 day testing period and that maybe the
update once per day wasn't a problem (this wasn't from the person that decides this
though). I asked if I could find out what day UOAssist would be tested so I could
send the very latest version the day before, no response.
- Trying to continue being at least somewhat patient I didn't email about progress again
until 2/15/99. On 2/17/99 I get the latest results (view
them here). I changed the install to fix the wording on the last page and
removed the option to only check for UO updates once per day and resubmitted that same
day. I explained that only the install and UOAssist.exe were changed and
UOAssist.dll was the same as the last submission and that all game affecting code was in
UOAssist.dll. I received no response so on 2/23 I wrote a letter (actually didn't
send it until 2/24/99 12:36am) pleading with OSI to speed things up and explaining some of
the frustration the whole process was causing. To date I have still received no
response.
- Now there is at least 2 sides to this story, Tugsoft's and OSI's and ???. OSI will
most likely view things very differently. I post this saga (this is actually just
the portion since OSI announced the official 3rd party utility program in August 98, I've
been working on this since Jan 98:) so that hopefully someone at OSI/EA will see it or
hear about it and get things moving. I believe the individuals at OSI are trying but
as a group it is failing in my eyes. If others do write OSI about this or post about
it please be civil. Many times people blame DD for most things they see as wrong
with UO. Well in this process, which he has no responsibility for, he has always
been helpful so I ask you especially don't try and blame him.
- Normally I wouldn't post ways to avoid banning but since OSI has been dragging their
feet on the whole approval process I've decided to post what I have picked up from others
experiences (OSI if ONE of the people I emailed recently would have responded in any
way (positive or negative) this segment wouldn't be here). After I posted how people
where being banned a couple of people with experience wrote. Indeed none of the
people were banned for using Last Target. They were macroing in town and casting
spells upon themselves. Some were just taken to jail and released while others were
banned either for a day or permanently. The key to not getting permanently banned
may turn out to be your attitude when taken to jail or when you find yourself in jail or
account blocked. If you start 'yelling' or 'cursing' it seems obvious you are just
hurting yourself (if you don't want to be banned). Try to remain calm and be civil
and you'll up your chances of being treated better. If you are a 'jerk' to the GM
why would you expect him to be kind to you? Here is what seems to happen.
While macro in town, casting upon yourself, some 'helpful' player calls a GM thinking he
is delaying the end of the world by reporting you. The GM takes the macroer to a
room and spams them (or has an NPC do it) to see if they successfully target themselves
still or if they target the spam as some mouse click emulator based macro programs would
(like ezmacro). If the spam never is targeted the GM assumes it is a program like
UOAssist being used to macro (they can't seem to actually tell what is being used so they
try to determine by watching and/or asking you). Sometimes they ask the person but
if you aren't around to answer they may just block your account. Then when you email
them about it they may talk to you or they may leave you in 'jail' so the next time you
log in you are forced to call a GM to help you. Personally I don't advocate lying to
the GM but it has been successful for others. If you choose the lying route to
answer the question of what macro program you are using and how you could target your
character when being spammed without the aid of a program like UOAssist think about what
all can be targeted to target yourself. Because just targeting your on screen
'avatar' isn't good enough. Remember you can target more than just your body to
'hit' yourself. No I'm not giving the exact details, if you think it will be a
problem and plan to go the 'white lie' route do some research. Remember, one of the
most important things is to treat the GM decently if you expect to be treated decently.
Of course it might be wiser to just avoid macroing anything that requires targeting
in town or public places to avoid ever being taken to jail in the first place.
2-24-99
- The OSI post about last target is still at http://support.owo.com/c_issue.html
for those that couldn't find it. As a side note the actual contract for 3rd parties
to be 'approved' has also been removed from OSI's website. The page explaining the
process somewhat is there but the needed documents are no longer available.
- So what is going on? Only OSI might know. Yesterday I emailed 4 people at
OSI pleading with them to speed up the review but haven't received a reply from any of
them (of course it is patch day so that might be part of the reason).
- Also, of the few emails I've received from people banned over the past month or so they
were just macroing in town (I think all were in town). I suspect someone reported
them and GM's came and observed to determine what they were doing. No one mentioned
anything about use of last target when they were banned.
2-23-99
- YES I've seen the message about last target on OSI's website.:)
- I'm not sure why they 'targeted' last target in the message but OSI's policy is still
that the use of ANY unapproved 3rd party program (including UOAssist) can get you banned
from the game.
- I have sent another email again asking about approval of the latest version of UOAssist
submitted explaining I thought the 2 things they asked to be changed were very minor.
Also I ask them to please speed up the reviewing process. I hope OSI will
take this into consideration and not wait the full month allowed before reviewing UOAssist
again. This seems to be part of the reason it is taking so long. So far it has
gone like this: UOAssist is submitted, OSI waits nearly the full 30 days to look at
it, OSI request a change or two, UOAssist is altered and resubmitted before the next day
(usually late the same night), OSI waits nearly the full 30 days before looking at it....
It is very frustrating when most of the changes they have asked for are very very
minor and only one affected actual gameplay (modifying last target to
have UOAssist range check). It has now been over a year since I first approached OSI
with the beta of UOAssist and asked for them to look it over so it could be 'approved'.
2-18-99
- News on approval. I received an update from OSI and there are 2 small issues they
told me about. One was mentioned before and was the ability UOAssist has to only
check the OSI update server once per day. I thought I got them to agree that was OK
but I was wrong. The other issue was the 'finish' page on the install mentioned an
option to launch UOAssist and a readme file at the end of the install when the options
really weren't there ( left the default text on that dialog). So I've sent them a
new install that corrects the problem and contains a new UOAssist.exe (1.1.8) that doesn't
have the option to only check for OSI updates once a day. The option to only check
for UOAssist updates once a day is still there. Those were the only 2 issues they
mentioned so version 1.9.4 is still the version of UOAssist.dll that was submitted.
So UOAssist still hasn't been approved by OSI but seems very very close. As more
updates are received this page will be updated with the information.
2-11-99
- Help on the way. I've been holding off on adding new features to UOAssist until it
becomes approved. But the approval process is taking much longer than I had thought
it would after the 'legal' work was done. So I've decided to stop waiting and start
updating it again. New features will soon be added to help fish catchers
(politically correct:), cooks, miners, tailors, alchemist, tamers, fish catchers (they
write the most currently), and most other people. No ETA right now and details are
being held secret:) at this point. But fishermen your cries have been heard and will
be answered.
2-3-99
- Stacking of colored ore has been corrected. Now UOAssist will only attempt to
stack ore of the same color that it can find nearby. If you are stacking ore while
in a house make sure there are NO ore piles near where you stand but on the outside of
your house or UOAssist may try to stack the ore on that pile and it will fail.
2-2-99
- Getting reports of problems with colored ore stacking correctly so this will be looked
into quickly.
2-1-99
- Mixed reports: I've been getting mixed reports on the exiting problem. For
some people going back to ICQ 98a seems to solve the problem but others have never used
ICQ 99 and still have the problem.
1-30-99
- New versions of UOAssist.exe and UOAssist.dll have been posted. More details on
the Updates page.
- If explorer crashes with a page fault (or other problem) after exiting UO you can try
the new UOAssist.exe to see if it helps. Also if this happens regularly (20% or more
of the time) please try the update and send an email
with results (did it help or not?). Include the following in your email please:
OS (Win98, WinNT4sp4...), ICQ version used if any, amount of RAM, error you get
(Page Fault, Invalid Instruction...), how often it happens and any pattern you notice.
Thanks
1-29-99
- With the coming ore color changes OSI has also changed how ore is put into the miners
pack which stops the auto-stacking feature in UOAssist. This is being worked on
currently and will be in the next patch which should be available before the changes are
put on the 'normal' shards.
1-26-99
- Opps, a few people are having problems with the 'new' trial keys. The problem has
been found and corrected. A new version of UOAssist.dll is in place on the Updates
page and auto updater. But the version number wasn't changed so either manually
download it or delete your current UOAssist.dll and the new version will be downloaded for
you. If you are getting the 'Corrupt Key...' error you'll need to do this to get
going.
- A new patch with the above fix and new weight formula will be coming soon (reason for
not changing the version number above).
1-22-99
- Some people are having problems launching UOAssist after the latest patch from Tugsoft
and also the latest patch from OSI. If you get errors starting UO without using
UOAssist you'll need to contact OSI with the error message and see if they have a
solution. I get the impression they are working on the problem. If you can run
UO alone fine but have problems starting UOAssist and getting the '20 instructions...'
error please try this UOAssist.exe (version 1.1.7.1).
Let me know if it fixes your problem. Thanks. (NOTE: this update only
is to help those having problems starting UOAssist, it doesn't add any features or change
any current features)
1-20-99
- Update to UOAssist posted. More information on the Updates
page.
- The latest server patch from OSI has changed tailoring and affects UOAssist macroing and
last target'ing cloth. The changes are being examined and hopefully an update to
UOAssist will be available soon.
1-12-99
- Received a new message from OSI on the approval process. The changes made to last
target seem to have satisfied them but now the ability to skip the UO updater (except once
per day) is at issue and the UOAssist auto-updating is also a concern. I am
responding to them again and providing a new version of UOAssist to them as well.
- But remember, UOAssist isn't approved until OSI says it is even though it seems very
close now.
- The next version will correct last target so it can be used to target items you have in
your hands. It reduces the amount of data sent to 3rd party programs (get Xena's
updates if you haven't already and use Xena's tools). Hopefully it corrects the
explorer crashes some people are having as well.
12-30-98
- A reminder: If you email Tugsoft and expect a response the reply address in your
email package needs to be set correctly. If it isn't set correctly don't expect any
replies.
- Well the 1.9.1 update does send reagent information to 3rd parties but it sends it much
more often than before which can cause problems. Changes to UOAssist are being made
so the reagent information is not sent so often. This should help people that are
seeing delays after recalling while using other tools like the popular Xena's Magic Tool.
- And for those asking about tools that integrate with UOAssist visit the Other Tools link for information.
12-28-98
- Well I actually took from Christmas until today off from answering emails, combine that
will the breaking of 3rd party tools and I have been flooded with emails (over 300).
I've plowed through all up until today's so far and I'm putting them off until
tomorrow so I can fix the problem and hopefully avoid a few hundred more emails.
- Seems I broke some of the '3rd party' tools that integrate with UOAssist with the 1.9.0
update. I'll be looking into this soon and getting it fixed.
- Some notes on the range checking last target. If the target is an item in your
pack make sure you first count resources or you'll get the message saying the target is
out of range.
12-26-98
- Posted version 1.9.0 of UOAssist.dll. Details on the Updates
page.
12-24-98
- News on UOAssist's approval. OSI has concerns about last target. A quote
from the message - "...it's not the nature of the feature that is problematic.
Unfortunately, there are issues with the code *on our end* at this time that allow the
last target feature to be used as a cheat." OSI does plan to correct the issues
on their end at which point it isn't an issue according to the message.
- I received another email that mentioned one of the possible uses as a cheat and I've
made changes to last target to hopefully allow it to remain in UOAssist and reduce/remove
the uses as a 'cheat'. I submitted version 1.9.0 to OSI on the 23rd (yesterday) but
the holidays and an ice storm kept people away from the office. And most of the
people at OSI will be out of the office until after the new year so it won't be known if
the steps taken satisfy the requirements or not.
- So what was changed? Distance checking was added. I did test the server-side
distance on some of the targeted spells when I first added last target and the server did
limit distance but OSI mentioned it as a potential problem so I have added it. So in
1.9.0 all uses of last target will be checked for distance. And in some cases you
will see a message telling you the target is out of range when it really is well within
range. This can happen if you do something like item id an object in your pack then
moved the item to the ground, bank... When that happens you need to manually target
again and then last target will work fine again.
- Overall the news seems good. Everything but last target is just fine and I hope
with the changes in 1.9.0 it also will be accepted.
12-23-98
- A new version of UOAssist (1.9.0) will be posted on Saturday or before. Details
will be posted then (as they might change more still:).
- News on UOAssist's approval will also be posted later today or tomorrow.
12-21-98
- The web server is 'deciding' to stop serving pages after a few days for some reason.
I'm trying to track down the cause to correct it but so far haven't made any
progress. So if you have problems getting to the website just try later in the day
and it should be working again.
12-19-98
- Still waiting on the approval process results. Hoping to get them by the 24th.
12-4-98 afternoon
- Some people are still having a couple of problems with 1.1.6 UOAssist.exe. If you
have either of these problems email UOAssist@tugsoft.com
to get a mini patch (1.1.6.1).
- Problem 1: On some machines the current versions displayed are always ??? (meaning
UOAssist couldn't determine the version). I'm guessing this will only happen on a
limited number of Win95 machines. I don't know the exact reason it happens but I
have made changes to avoid the problem.
- Problem 2: If you are getting web access through a proxy server you may get 0
length update files. Combined with problem one this means you'll never be able to
use UOAssist (without 1.1.6.1). If you don't have problem one you can just get the
latest version of files from the website and it won't be a problem. I've made
changes so the 0 length files no longer come down but auto-updating still won't work for
you. I'm looking into other solutions for this problem including possible socks
support.
- And some UOAssist approval news. The delay in the process is OSI is devoting all
efforts to the housing changes taking place. Hopefully in the next week or so they
will have time to look over the submitted programs. Please don't bother them or
question them about the time frame as they view it important but housing is more important
(I agree with them).
12-4-98
- Version 1.1.6 of UOAssist.exe has been resubmitted to OSI(with new install package) to
OSI as required by the 3rd party utility agreement. It has also been posted on the
auto-updater and the Updates page. Version 1.1.6 of
UOAssist.exe does not add, change or fix any 'in game' features.
- No news has come from the approval process yet.
- People have been asking about the new encryption scheme and if it will more cause lag.
The new scheme does take more cpu cycles to encrypt/decrypt but it isn't excessive.
On the client side I doubt it will cause anyone problems unless they already have
problems with their cpu keeping up. On the server side the problem is magnified as
we are talking about 1000's of connections (I believe). But still it only takes a
few more cpu cycles than the old scheme so I doubt its effects will be noticed.
- Also people have asked if the new encryption protects passwords. Well game account
names and passwords have always (since late beta I believe) been encrypted before sending
them across the internet. The new encryption is 'stronger' but not much. I
still advise (as does OSI) that you NEVER save your password and change it regularly.
Also be 'smart' about accepting/downloading files. If you don't know and
trust the person don't accept ANY file from them. Also don't download files from
sites you are unsure about. Personally I don't download any files except from
company sponsored sites.
- On that note, if you are concerned about the UOAssist auto-updater delivering you a
virus here is what you can do (all files are scanned before placing them for download).
After the file has downloaded do NOT push the continue button. Then use your
virus scanner on all files in the 'download' directory that will be under your UOAssist
directory. Once you push the Continue button those files are used to overwrite the
files in your UOAssist directory.
12-2-98 evening
- Some confusion with people updating. If you still have a pre- 1.1.x version of
UOAssist.exe you must get the new version to use the new dll.
12-2-98
- Updated UOAssist.dll to work with today's OSI update.
- Resubmitted the new UOAssist.dll as required by the 3rd party agreement (even though I
haven't received any word back on since submission).
11-30-98
- Tugsoft's webserver decided to role-play an insane piece of software today causing
problems for many visitors. After a reboot all seems to be back to normal.
- I'm working on an update to UOAssist.exe so it doesn't have to connect to the update
server every time you load UOAssist. Other new auto-update related features will
also be added.
- A few people have said they had problems when UOAssist wasn't installed in the default
directories, local testing has not been able to reproduce any problems with this though.
- Version 1.8.8 of UOAssist.dll displays the stam/dex values on the titlebar in dex/stam
order instead of the anticipated stam/dex order. This has been corrected so there is
no need to message me about it:).
11-24-98
- New versions of UOAssist.exe and UOAssist.dll have been posted. More details on
the updates page.
- The new versions are the versions being submitted to OSI's 3rd party program. I
will post more information on progress as it is gained.
- For the few people that had problems with the new UOAssist (auto-update version) not
loading UOAssist for use in the game correctly get the latest version. It should
correct the problem.
11-23-98
- The day has finally come! OSI has completed the 3rd party utility
program and UOAssist will be submitted tomorrow.
11-14-98
- On shovel making. I think I finally found the cause of ingots disappearing on
failed tinkering in a UOAssist macro. After reviewing the code I believe the only
time it should have happened is when you created the macro to make shovels or whatnot.
Then played the macro and FAILED tinkering on the first run through the macro.
If the failure was anytime after the first loop through there shouldn't be any
trouble. If you have experienced anything different than that (and are sure) let me
know. I've made changes in the code (1.8.7) that should stop that case from causing
a problem. I hope to put 1.8.7 on the auto-updater later tonight.
- On the progress of the 3rd party agreement with OSI. It appears to be very close.
Last word is the lawyer involvement is completed (meaning the agreement is in final
form) and now OSI just has to make sure everything else is ready (logo, website, people to
review...). I haven't received the 'final' draft of the agreement unless no changes
were made from the last copy OSI sent out. But I don't have any 'sign stopping'
issues with the last version I have so as soon as I see a green light to apply UOAssist
will be submitted.
11-12-98
- If you have T2A and are having problems when starting up UOAssist turn off the language
translation service in UO (start without UOAssist if needed or edit your uo.cfg directly
and be sure to turn both options off). Then it should work fine. I'll be
looking into this problem soon.
11-11-98
- Does trouble come in 2's or 3's? Well this time the internet connection problem
was wiring. Someone 'down line' shorted out the connection to the web/email server
last night. So the lesson learned is to have all bridge taps on your line removed so
there is no 'down line' to cause problems.
- A new version of UOAssist will be available in the next day or two (as long as the web
server can stay connected). It should fix the re-login problems and finally provides
auto updating of UOAssist.
11-8-98
- Well Tugsoft's ISP lost its main connection to the internet so connections to the
website/email... are mostly dead. A few people can still get through.
Hopefully it will be back soon. Of coarse the people that need to read this probably
can't even see it.
11-6-98
- People seem to be having a problem with logging in a new character after playing for a
while. UOAssist seems to be exiting (just disappearing) when you make the attempt.
I'm looking into this but haven't seen it myself. As I learn more I'll post
information.
- If you have UO:T2A you need to get version 1.8.5 even if you just installed the new
program and haven't upgraded your account to this point.
11-4-98
- The DNS information for Tugsoft's email was messed up earlier today. It has been
corrected now. If you had trouble emailing earlier try again tomorrow (give your
local DNS servers time to flush out the bad info they might have cached). Sorry for
those that it caused a problem.
- OSI has presented a new agreement and it looks even better. But a few other 3rd
party developers have a few concerns with it.
10-30-98
10-29-98
- I received UO:T2A today and will be posting a minor update late tonight or tomorrow.
- The update (1.8.4) will make the few people that have problems getting in with UOAssist
work again. No changes to keys will be needed. I have already made the changes
needed and testing it with the 'old' clients and upgraded versions.
- Posted version 1.8.4. -- Get it if you had problems after upgrading to UO:T2A.
10-27-98
- UO:T2A update: Now I'm getting many people saying it works fine. But you
must update your registration information with OSI for it to work properly and then login
and out with each character or 're-register'. After doing that UOAssist seems to
work fine. I didn't receive my CD today either so I haven't gone through the upgrade
process to see what all is involved with upgrading so forgive me if I'm using the wrong
terms/steps... Bottom line seems to be to follow the instructions to completion and
it should work fine.
10-26-98
- UO:T2A information: It does seem that upgrading your account to T2A changes the
registration somewhat. I haven't received my T2A CD yet so I haven't seen exactly
what happens. When I get mine I'll look into what can be done. Hopefully it
will be something that can be automated. Make SURE you don't lose your original
'key' (don't delete it). Because if the process can't be automated your original
seed or key will be needed to convert to an T2A key.
10-24-98
- I'm resuming distribution of UOAssist. The agreement turned out to not be the
'final' agreement so OSI is returning it unopened. To me it sounds like it could be
a few more weeks before the final agreement is actually ready now. I jumped the gun
because OSI told us (3rd party developers) they were getting a few changes made to the new
agreement which is why they wouldn't show it to us for over a week after they received it.
When they finally did send it to us people responded with possible problems in it
and OSI never responded. So after nearly a week of no replies I started to think
they didn't answer because they didn't want to make any more changes. Anyway it
looks like they are going to change it more.
- For those of you upgrading OS's, hardware, recovering from hardware problems... I've put
a new 'Locate Key' link on the sidebar. Use that to find your registered key.
10-21-98
- UOAssist is not being distributed at this time. This is being done to comply with
the new 3rd party agreement. I'm submitting UOAssist for review today.
10-20-98
10-19-98
- After the new 3rd party agreement has been reviewed more closely I can not sign it.
Why? By signing it I'd be violating it already. The first paragraph
states that before distributing the utility 3 things must be submitted. One of the
things is a copy of the signed agreement. Well Tugsoft has been distributing
UOAssist for over 6 months so it would be in immediate breach of contract. They
still ask for a lot of control in the contract and as such I can't sign it when I'd be
breach of contract by doing so, giving Origin the right to demand the immediate cease of
all distribution of UOAssist and any/all other products Tugsoft produces that work with
UO.
10-16-98
- News on macroing shovel creation: I received an explanation for the ingots
vanishing when tinkering. It sounds good but I haven't verified it. The email
explained that if you use the tinker tools you'll get a menu to select what to make (of
coarse). If instead of picking something from the menu you use the tools again
another menu will appear. If you pick something now the item will be made but all
ingots in your pack get used. SO I suggest increasing the delay at the end of the
macro as suggested before or making them by hand if this is a problem for you.
Personally when I was mining a lot I just bought shovels when I could because I found it
'cheaper'.
- IT IS BACK! The new 3rd party agreement has been made available.
I reviewed it quickly and it looks good. Steps from here: Tugsoft's
attorney will review the documents. If all is well I will send version 1.8.2 of
UOAssist to OSI to be approved. The 3rd party documents state it can take up to 30
days to have submissions reviewed but I'm hoping it will be much shorter. I WON'T be
posting 1.8.2 or any other updates (unless needed for datastream changes) until OSI has
reviewed UOAssist 1.8.2.
10-15-98
- I've been getting a few reports of people having crash problems after the latest patch
from OSI (big window patch). My guess is the problem is UO itself since it seemed to
start just after the OSI patch. To narrow it down run without UOAssist and see if
you still have the problem. Also make sure you read and follow OSI's suggestions on
the update center concerning DirectX and video drivers.
- Macroing making shovels: I've received reports that sometimes all of the ingots
will be destroyed/disappear/donated to FoA ... I've also received reports this has
been happening for a long time without UOAssist as well. It *might* help to increase
the delay to at least 3000 after the menu selection command. But I suggest making
sure you are only carrying enough ingots to make what you need as they may all vanish with
only one shovel being made.
- No new information on the 3rd party agreement. I sent another email to OSI to see
what the status currently is and hope to get a reply tomorrow.
10-13-98
- Got an update from OSI on the 3rd party agreement. There was one line in it they
still want to get changed and the agreement is back in EA's legal hands. I have not
seen the agreement so I don't know what the one line said or what they want changed.
- Also if you are having 'extra' lag. OSI suggests to turn off your obsenity filter.
Seems the new unicode support they added slowed down the filter a considerable
amount. You can tell if it affects your machine by going to a populated area and
hitting allnames.
10-9-98
- The saga continues: OSI did get a new agreement but it still contained a couple of minor
problems (so I was told).
10-8-98
- Got a note from OSI today about the 3rd party agreement. EA legal should deliver a
new agreement tomorrow. If OSI believes it is 'agreeable' they will give it to us
(3rd party developers).
10-7-98
- You may have noticed I didn't post any new information on the 3rd party agreement from
OSI. Hopefully it didn't come as a surprise but no information came about the
agreement. I have emailed OSI about it and they are checking with EA legal again.
- It seems older browser (3.x level and before) don't support cascading style sheets so
the links in the left side navigation bar may be hard to read after they have been
visited. I'm working on a solution but for now all I can suggest is to squint:)
10-4-98
- Version 1.8.0 released! Visit the Updates page
for details.
- Website updated in many areas, hopefully it is easier to get updates/news. Help
pages updated for new features. NOTE: The main page now has some animation on it but
only for those using Internet Explorer. The java code seemed to have some problems
running under Netscape.
10-1-98
- Today's patch doesn't seem to affect the datastream so no update to UOAssist is
required. BUT if you are using the display on titlebar feature and adjust to the
'big window' the full titlebar is not updated correctly. I've already corrected the
problem and version 1.8.0 will contain it. I hope to release 1.8.0 this
weekend. Latest news on the 3rd party agreement is possibly it will
be available this coming Monday. But please don't get your hopes too high as the
delaying of the agreement has been going on for a month now.
9-24-98
9-17-98
The reason for the delay with the new 3rd party
agreement has to do with EA's dealings with Westwood. NO new timeframe was
given. I can only hope it is soon but from past dealing with OSI/EA it could be
months (as in 6 or more, and yes I'm not happy about this either [ok maybe 6 months is
stretching it but the process has been a pain]). I have been trying to get OSI to
come up with a 3rd party 'program' since January only to be ignored and delayed over and
over. Now that they have announced it officially it seems doomed to delays for
an unknown amount of time.
9-16-98
8-26-98
OSI has held a meeting with many 3rd party developers including Tugsoft
tonight. They really do want to work with 'us' to get an agreement everyone finds
acceptable. The process looks like it will take at least another week. When I
have more information I'll post it here. There may also be a message from OSI posted
on some of the popular UO related websites so look through those as well.
Also I've been asked many times
if OSI can 'detect' UOAssist since it doesn't do 'cheat' things like some other
programs. I think the only thing they can 'detect' would be show incoming
names. Especially if you have high tracking skills so the range is extended.
The 'safest' thing to do would be to follow their notices and not use any 3rd party
utilities until they are approved. Currently I'm (and the rest of the 3rd party
utility creators) are waiting to get news on the new agreement they (OSI/EA) are creating.
Further questions can be sent to UOAssist@tugsoft.com.
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