OT: EA Cuts Jobs & Projects

[Phaen Grey]

*gets in line for Santa's Lap*

 

[Littleblue]

UO gives a steady, regular income with no expensive 'royalties' to be paid out.

Very true...

When I think of EA's other titles, like the popular sports games such as Madden, I always wonder how much they pay out to get the athletes' permissions, voice-overs, commercial spots, etc....the sports commentators too.

I would imagine the cash going out for those things is quite a sum. I often wonder how much net income those games actually produce. If those titles weren't so wildly popular, I wonder if they would be too expensive to produce for a smaller playerbase, unlike UO.

 

[Demonous]

for those curious about what darkfall is, here is a trailer on youtube about it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bYYT6Wg3Gg

here is another trailer recorded from real time and its a pretty long one but worth watching, this game will hopefully make many people that play wow quit
http://files.filefront.com/Darkfall+gameplay+trailerwmv/;11645449;/fileinfo.html

 

[Hannes Erich]

Demonous, I respect your excitement over the new game. And I watched the trailer, and I'm waiting for the (hour-long!!!) download at your second link. So I'm not the sort of fan that puts fingers in his ears and keeps his eyes closed. I'm sure I'll give it a whirl.

But I played UO for 2 years when it came out. Since then, I've stayed interested in MMO and multi-player RTS games and played many. Earth and Beyond, Ashen Empires, Planetside, City of Heroes, Vanguard, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War to name a few; quality ranging from Subspace and Allegiance and Freelancer to Eve-Online, to name a couple more. Each of these games promised a lot and delivered a lot, in spite of their criticisms.

UO and Eve Online remain the two franchises that are infinitely playable and impressive. The commitment to world-building by developers as well as the community are unmatched. UO has ten years of history, and the Ultima universe itself has been around for over thirty years. Maybe you can sell me on a new, fully 3D MMO in ten more years, when "UO: Ascension" comes out

 

[Sarsmi]

Do you honestly expect me to read or retain a single word of that article with a thumbnail of this on the same page?!

Job cuts...bad? Uhm, thinking is hard right now...mmmm...

 

[Arcus]

this game will hopefully make many people that play wow quit
http://files.filefront.com/Darkfall+gameplay+trailerwmv/;11645449;/fileinfo.html

Why do you want people to quit playing WoW? This makes no sense. Do you have money invested in Darkfall or something?

 

[pacific lily]

I'll never understand the whole body shaving thing on guys. It makes them look less guylike in my humble, totally irrelevant opinion.

It must go back to some deep rooted Ken doll thing in the psyche of western women.

It has nothing to do with women, hon.

Lily

 

[Saphireena]

It has nothing to do with women, hon.

I for one, would like to confirm this!

 

[AesSedai]

It has nothing to do with women, hon.

I for one, would like to confirm this!

- Well, I guess the scaremongering of UO's future isn't much of a concern right now, heh, so...

Personally, the only reason I ever shaved beyond the traditional was when significant others preferred it (I can't believe I'm sharing this, when I normally try to avoid getting personal here, hehe). To share a personal opinion, I always preferred the more-natural mature look (and the only reason I reply is because this subject has always fascinated me, ever since the trend started shifting in the US in the late 1980s). So, I think many people are willing and often do alter their image based upon what they feel, or know, their desired mate likes. I mean, isn't that why many men traditionally shaved their face and many women traditionally shaved their legs / armpits to begin with? In an attempt to appeal to more of whom they want to attract?
Sure, some might consider it a matter of personal hygiene or it might shave a few milliseconds off a time when swimming. But the best I can figure is that it boils down to different strokes for different folks; and while I consider maturity to be sexy, others may prefer a more prepubescent look. Yikes.

 

[Maplestone]

Too Much Information!

(wait, if I'm still reading after everything that's been posted already, it's my own fault if I'm shocked)

 

[Saphireena]

But the best I can figure is that it boils down to different strokes for different folks; and while I consider maturity to be sexy, others may prefer a more prepubescent look. Yikes.

You got it spot on. I don't know about the other ladies, but at least my taste has changed as I have matured. In fact it's reversed itself.

When I was a teenager/early twenties the thought of a hairy man repulsed me because it brought to mind the words "old, father, uncle, the dirty old man at the beach goggling at me". And just in general hairless boys were something familiar, from my world, boys I could relate to.

Now, twenty years later it is the complete opposite. Men without hair equals immaturity on a subconscious level and the last thing I want to be is a momma to the man I'm dating. The hairier the better, really.

Both of these extremes work on a psychological and a visual level as to what I've found pleasing to the eye. Nature sure is a smart cookie! A shame this method doesn't seem to work for men all that often. Sometimes it feels like the older the man, the younger the woman he is attracted to! I suppose it's the reproductive thing there.

 

[MR_CLEAN]

The hairier the better, really.

Careful what you wish for...

 

[Saphireena]

Careful what you wish for...

Hohoo!

Oh and PS: I just realized the answer to the mystery that men were pondering: Why do women go for hairless men? Well it's because you're chasing the young girls dummies! You really should give us old droopy boobied, saggy faced variations a try some time!

 

[MR_CLEAN]

You really should give us old droopy boobied, saggy faced variations a try some time!

 

[AesSedai]

- Well said Saphireena (esp. the 'psychological and visual level' bit).

And to counter the image altering Rivers... I'd like to offer a, to the best of my knowledge more-natural rendition, called: Sofia

 

[Hunters' Moon]

*gets in line for Santa's Lap*

*Wants to be Santa* Lebrun says Hi.

 

[Fuser606]

Mark Jacobs has stated publicly that he had to keep EA from canning UO when he took over. Given that his precious Warhammer has turned out to be a giant flop, Jacobs will probably be out of a job soon. And if you think EA won't kill a game just because it has an expansion and some such in the pipe, remember that this is the company that aborted UO2 when it was almost completely finished.

Be worried.

Also, I have to laugh at people who think Darkfail is going to be anything besides another indie sh*tpile MMO wreck along the lines of Shadowbane.

 

[Hannes Erich]

Be worried.

You're not going to surprise anyone on this forum with your sentiment. People have been prophesying Ultima Online's demise since beta. Don't expect any gasps.

I am starting to suspect, at the root of this kind of talk, that maybe some of you would be happier if EA's executives showed up on the forums to beg and plead for your trust.

Or if the dev team at Mythic stopped working on Stygian Abyss and ML/KR, and dropped everything to visit the forum every time one of you demanded that they answer your very important question/complaint/worry here on the forums.

Spend some time, during just one day, picking out the threads where people demand a response from the devs. You'll soon find the above paragraph to be a very unrealistic scenario.

But we both know that neither of the above scenarios would satisfy you anyway, if you've already made up your mind about these faceless executives and developers who just don't care enough about your virtual life, who just don't give you enough attention on the Internet.

The original poster linked to an article wherein EA assured Mythic that they are not going to be affected by the cuts. If you can read that and still feel certain that UO is headed down the toilet, then I have a suggestion for you.

Stop worrying about EA, and Mythic, and what the future holds. Go play the game while you still can, if you think the end of the world is that close.

Your skepticism is contagious and, in spreading, it only helps to fulfill your own prophecy, especially when potential customers see your doom-and-gloom posts. And you can't pin a decline in UO's subscription numbers wholly on EA and Mythic if you are going around making announcements about how hopeless everything is. You have every bit of potential to damn this franchise moreso than EA or Mythic could. This is the internet, and you're mistaken if you think your own words have no affect on people who read them.

Having said that...

After fifty-something posts, why has this maniacally meandering thread not been tossed into the UHall Off Topic forum? Most of this crap has nothing to do with Ultima Online. For goodness sake, the original poster even labeled it Off-Topic. I'm not blaming the posters (posters will be posters), but where the heck are the moderators?

 

[Saphireena]

Your skepticism is contagious and, in spreading, it only helps to fulfill your own prophecy, especially when potential customers see your doom-and-gloom posts. And you can't pin a decline in UO's subscription numbers wholly on EA and Mythic if you are going around making announcements about how hopeless everything is. You have every bit of potential to damn this franchise moreso than EA or Mythic could. This is the internet, and you're mistaken if you think your own words have no affect on people who read them.

This is exactly why I never direct friends to the UO stratics forums when I am on my "You should try UO!" campaigns. It's a real shame too, because the majority is good stuff here and shows what a vibrant, lively community we have.

 

[daisuke]

maybe they'll finally cut DAOC and give it to the freeshard community xD



clustered servers wtf, you know the games dyin when they do that..

 

[Lord Drakelord]

oh ya!