ImperiumUO was officially founded on September 25th, 2011 by +Alator and +Artemis and first became publicly accessible on January 15th, 2012.
As with any server, Imperium comes from humble beginnings. We have undergone several re-brandings since 2007, ultimately selecting “Imperium” as our official name while diving into Stygian Abyss content. At one point in our history, Imperium was intended to be a fully-custom server, complete with an amazing array of graphics, maps, and unique content. Many of our longtime players and Staff still remember the remodel and removal of this content in early-2012. Through hard work and perseverance we have continued to keep Imperium afloat, always expanding our horizons as evidenced by our evolving websites and progressive in-game content.
Imperium focuses on combining the very “best” of everything under one massive setting. Player feedback and research is a big part of this process. We don’t claim to have everything perfected but we do continue to actively work towards that goal. Our Staff is dedicated, driven, professional and strives to provide new content (as well as manage issues with current content) on a daily basis. Imperium is inspired by the roots of Ultima Online: a friendly community that provides a little bit of everything for everyone; provided for the players, by the players.
OUR STAFF RANKS, AND THEIR DUTIES
While Imperium may be supported by its players, the server would not be here today if not for our brilliant and dedicated Staff team. Below you will find a breakdown of each Staff rank and that rank’s corresponding access/duties.
All Staff members on Imperium are held to stringent standards but player satisfaction is our primary concern. Staff members will frequently interact with players through events, chat, or even brief visits. Any Counselors that still maintain active player accounts are not permitted to disclose their personal character(s) name(s).
Staff members are easily identifiable by the Staff: title displayed beneath their names (on hover over). Each individual Staff member also has a color-coded rank next to the Staff prefix — those colors are denoted in the tabs below.
The “Owner” rank is reserved solely for the actual owners of ImperiumUO. While an Owner’s duties are all-inclusive (overseeing every aspect of server management), they’re to be considered the “final” authority in all matters pertinent to the shard. When disputes, in-game issues, etc fail to be resolved at Administration level, Owners will offer their input – all decisions are final.
Administrators are senior Staff members who exist primarily to “create” and “enhance” the game. Staffers at this rank are essentially equal to Owners, usually with direct access to the server and its files, being able to perform restarts and update the functionality of the server.
This rank is filled by senior Game Masters, who’ve either invested the time, or have displayed the ability to lead the general support team, that consists of Game Masters and Counselors. This rank also comes with extra permissions and more extensive obligations in-game. Seers are considered to be “acting Administrators” when senior Staff is not available.
Game Masters have all the tools/commands necessary for building/editing the world, as well as creating and managing in-game events. In most cases, more serious issues such as glitches/bugs/harassment are handled by GMs. Counselors who successfully complete their GM Training, will advance to this rank.
Counselors are Staff members who serve as advisors; they advise senior Staff about game situations, and they provide assistance to players when necessary. They do not have the power to modify the world, nor do they help players with more dynamic issues, such as equipment or quests. Instead, Counselors will spend most of their free time handling general gameplay questions, etc. All Counselors interested in advancing to the rank Game Master, must successfully complete a one month training period.
“What I like most about this shard is the organized way development has proceeded and the work and care put into the “physical plant”. The Forum site has always seemed a cut above too.”
Drusilla
“The Staff is always friendly and open to the players helping with questions and quick to fix bugs. I really like the content here, but it is the Staff that makes it worth playing on Imperium.”
Weasle
“I was drawn to Imperium after seeing how the staff deals with the player base on the forums and this cemented my desire to play here.”
Meryna
“The fact that you appear to have some kind of timeline in mind since you’re constantly posting new publishes and actually doing proper release notes, goes a long way to show that you are working on improving things and want everyone to see what’s been done.”
Steeledriver