Donation Philosophy

Donation Philosophy

Donations help us improve the shard, content and hardware. It costs a lot to maintain a top staff, connection, and advertise if there is no financial support from the community.

Many players never donate and that's fine, this IS meant to be a free shard. You can still enjoy the shard and get all the items in-game with time and effort. This is by no means a typical pay-to-play shard, we do invest the donations back in to the shard to improve the gameplay.

Many generous players donate because they recognize the shard as an amazing place to enjoy, just like going to a movie or out to dinner. They find value in our time and what we do here on the shard for your entertainment.

Some players have a limited time to play so they choose the donation option as a way to skip the grind and get right into the action! I made this option for people like me, who have a job, but limited time to play and don't mind spending a few dollars to support the shard and to not "waste" their time training for a few months to have fun.

The non-donors should love this, more players, more action, stimulates the economy and more loot in game to plunder! The donors "pay" the costs and make the shard FREE to play for everyone!

Donations are also important to create the in-game economy. It makes a market between new players that have ED and Veteran players that don't. The veteran players have a lot of gold/items and the new players have ED and desire gold/items, it makes the world go around!

The monthly donation subscriptions really help me budget the shard expenses and plan for future expansions. You get double ED for any amount with this option as a thank you for supporting the shard.

Please give a big thanks to anyone you know that has donated and never give them grief. They are a huge part of the success of UO Evolution!

Thank you to the Evo community for all the past donations and for improving "your" shard. I appreciate all the support for this project and the game we all love!

Dante

Running UO Evolution is not easy

Running UO Evolution is not easy...many players have insinuated it is "easy" to create a custom UO shard. Having an "idea" and downloading the software is easy. Having the skill sets, time and money is just the first GIANT step.

Running an Ultima Online free shard can be a complex task that requires a variety of skills. Here are some key skills that you may need to have or develop:

Game Development: You should have experience with game development, specifically in Ultima Online or a similar MMORPG. You should be familiar with game mechanics, game design, scripting, and server administration.

Programming: You should have programming skills, especially in languages like C# or Java. This is important for developing and maintaining custom scripts and tools for your server.

Server Administration: You should have experience in server administration, including setting up and maintaining server hardware, networking, and security.

Community Management: You should be able to manage and communicate with your community of players effectively. This includes moderating forums, addressing player concerns and feedback, and maintaining a positive community culture.

Marketing: You should have marketing skills to attract and retain players to your server. This includes promoting your server on social media, forums, and other channels.

Financial Management: You should have basic financial management skills to manage any income or expenses associated with running the server. You do not make ANY money for the first 2 years...

Problem Solving: You should be able to identify and solve technical problems and issues that may arise during server operation.

Creativity: You should be able to come up with new ideas and content for your server to keep players engaged and interested.

Personality: Not everyone can put up with abuse from the public. No matter how nice you are, there will always be haters, critics, hackers and just plain mean people that would love to see you fail...and there will be hundreds of internet trolls to deal with...be prepared.

These are just a few of the skills that you may need to run an Ultima Online free shard successfully...there is no crying in Ultima Online!

What is the cost of running an Ultima Online server?

The cost of operating a RunUO Ultima Online server, like UO Evolution, with over 500+ players online daily can vary widely depending on a number of factors, including the server hardware, software and hosting requirements, maintenance costs, labor and the specific needs of our player base.

Here are some general cost estimates to consider:

Server hardware: The cost of purchasing or leasing a powerful server(s) with adequate storage space, RAM, and CPU can cost several thousand dollars, depending on the specific hardware requirements. A high-end server may be necessary to handle the demands of such a large player base like UO Evolution.

Software: The cost of acquiring or licensing the necessary software, including Windows Server 2023, third-party tools, plugins, wiki, wordpress, templates, .net framework, hosting software, email list management, buying custom code, etc. can vary depending on the specific software packages and licenses needed.

Hosting: The cost of hosting the server(s) can vary depending on the hosting provider and the specific hosting package selected. We use several servers, a test server and a back up to run UO Evolution. A dedicated hosting plan is required for a large player base and can cost a few thousand dollars per month.

Advertising: You can advertise in many places for free on the internet, but in order to attract new players you need to pay fees to Google, Facebook, Instagram, and multiple Top Lists which can each cost several hundred per month. You also need to run a website and wiki, which need monthly graphics, updates and info!

Maintenance: Regular maintenance and updates are necessary to ensure the server is stable, secure, and protected. This may require hiring a dedicated server administrator or developer to perform these tasks, which can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per month. Hackers try and disrupt our servers daily and it requires a lot of maintenance to keep the firewall up-to-date.

Staffing/Labor Requirements: Many people volunteer time to help with many aspects of our game, but it does take a dedicated paid staff to maintain such a large shard, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 14 years!

Overall, the cost of operating a RunUO Ultima Online server is very expensive and time-consuming...although this is a FREE SHARD, it does take money and donations to keep the shard online and available to all that enjoy this project.

Why Should You Donate?

If you read all of the above information, you can see how hard we all work for this project, and that we love the game...consider making Donations to keep the shard alive for another year!

What if I Can't Donate?

If you cannot contribute financially, please consider helping the staff with the new player guild, create player-run events, advertising, fb posts, make videos, writing updates for the wiki, writing lore for the dungeons or volunteer any talent that you have to help the community thrive.

We always need new website graphics, advertisements and videos for the shard, if I use your work, you can get paid in Evolution Dollars for your effort!

Any player help is always appreciated!

Contact Dante if you are interested.