Let UO die

[Fat Midnight]

The dev team has repeatedly patched a dam with nothing more than duct tape and bubble gum. UO is now approaching 14 years, something no other MMO community can say. Nobody who knows anything about the original code remembers anything about it, let alone works for EA anymore.

UO is now the 68 Roadrunner or 64 Impala you see around town that looks really bad yet somehow somebody keeps it going. No amount of complaining can turn this game around. The only thing that can save it is about 200k new subscribers and the money it would bring.


New MMOs suck, they don`t build them like they used to.
New cars, while all cookie cutter and nice running like, dont hold them same attraction like a real classic such as a Vette or 'Cuda does. Still, they don`t build em like they used to.



UO(68 Charger RT) might not handle, start, or be as fuel efficient as a WoW/any other modern MMO(2011 Mustang). UO might now be a classic but at some point we all have to just let it go.

Do you really think the dev team gives a rats ass what color your clothing is? How damaged your boat gets? Hell no, im sure there just trying to hold onto there job just like the rest of America right now.

UO players are famous for paying for "bad service" yet we come back.
If you want real change, leave. Let UO die with what little dignity it has left.

TL;DR: the long and winding road....

INB4 Rants and Speils.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

See, aside from a few who are myopically stuck in 1998, the vast majority of UO players don't want UO to die. Mainly for one of the very reasons you cite, modern MMOs are missing something.

WoW has a lot of flash, very little substance. Same goes for nearly every other cookie cutter WoW clone out there.

UO has a lot of substance and history, but the bloom is not only off the rose, its long since molded away. However, if EA/Mythic/Bioware/whoever did a no holds barred update to the client and fixed the long standing bugs, then marketed the frack out of it.... We could have the best of both worlds. Modern flash with "old school" substance.

The servers already store the X/Y/Z of every object in the game, so converting them tp accept a 3D client (which could have an isometric viewpoint) wouldn't be hard. Yes, people would have to forgo some of the forced perspective "art" such as the lawn gnomes, fishtanks, and pianos. But, seriously, that’s not that much to ask to keep UO relevant.

People need to stop being afraid of change. It’s really not that scary.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

People need to stop being afraid of change. It’s really not that scary.

Change =/= improvement. There is a HUGE difference. Change is not, in and of itself, necessarily bad. For example, you can win the lottery and it will change your life. However, contracting terminal cancer can also change your life.

Remember, when someone promises you change, make sure they specify if they mean improvement, or just vague "change"...because that can mean many things.

 

[Fat Midnight]

See, aside from a few who are myopically stuck in 1998, the vast majority of UO players don't want UO to die. Mainly for one of the very reasons you cite, modern MMOs are missing something.

WoW has a lot of flash, very little substance. Same goes for nearly every other cookie cutter WoW clone out there.

UO has a lot of substance and history, but the bloom is not only off the rose, its long since molded away. However, if EA/Mythic/Bioware/whoever did a no holds barred update to the client and fixed the long standing bugs, then marketed the frack out of it.... We could have the best of both worlds. Modern flash with "old school" substance.

The servers already store the X/Y/Z of every object in the game, so converting them tp accept a 3D client (which could have an isometric viewpoint) wouldn't be hard. Yes, people would have to forgo some of the forced perspective "art" such as the lawn gnomes, fishtanks, and pianos. But, seriously, that’s not that much to ask to keep UO relevant.

People need to stop being afraid of change. It’s really not that scary.

All it takes is money, if you are willing to put up 6-7 figures for this game im sure you could find somebody at EA to listen.
Also how are us vets scared of change? We are still here damnit.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Change doesn't also mean things get "worse" either. It’s all about perspective. Comparing the two, out of context, doesn't really make your post relevant.

While you didn't like Trammel or AoS, most players apparently did.

The path forward doesn't lay behind us.

 

[Fat Midnight]

Change doesn't also mean things get "worse" either. It’s all about perspective. Comparing the two, out of context, doesn't really make your post relevant.

While you didn't like Trammel or AoS, most players apparently did.

The path forward doesn't lay behind us.

What does that have to do with the topic at hand?

Im not asking for anything. All I AM saying is that we are standing on the deck of the Titanic.

 

[Kayne.]

UO has actually improved from where it was around ML in my opinion..just restarted today.

UO lost it's dignity when they decided to put Ninjas and samurai in it...lol


Some parts are actually getting more fun. It is dying, but it's gaining ground compared to 2 years ago.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

What does that have to do with the topic at hand?

Im not asking for anything. All I AM saying is that we are standing on the deck of the Titanic.

Sorry, thats in response to Morgana, not you... Didn't feel like quoting a post that would have been right above my response

At any rate, UO is still profitable.. according to multiple sources now. Profitable = viable = alive. WAR, on the other hand, was stillborn.

The vets who are "scared of change" are the ones who still whine and pancake about Trammel and AoS...namely the aforementioned Morgana...and demand a classic shard to assuage their feelings of abandonment. UO wouldn't have continued on till 2011 if their perceptions were reality.

 

[Fat Midnight]

Sorry, thats in response to Morgana, not you... Didn't feel like quoting a post that would have been right above my response

At any rate, UO is still profitable.. according to multiple sources now. Profitable = viable = alive. WAR, on the other hand, was stillborn.

The vets who are "scared of change" are the ones who still whine and pancake about Trammel and AoS...namely the aforementioned Morgana...and demand a classic shard to assuage their feelings of abandonment. UO wouldn't have continued on till 2011 if their perceptions were reality.

Points taken, but for how long? I enjoy the hell out of this game, as im typing this im in the abyss kicken some pixelated ass. I really don`t want it to die.... I just don`t think it can really be saved.

 

[Raptor85]

UO has become a horrible game, 99% of what made it fun is gone, patched out in favor of the game being easier with more super items. Many things have made the world seem smaller than it is, and lack of attention from devs/GM's have caused inconsistencies and bugs that completely ruin the game. Game support is non-existent, the GM's either don't care or don't actually know anything about the game.

Still saying all that, it's still the best MMO on the market, not because of the expansions and additions but in spite of them.... which Is why I personally came back a year ago and started playing again. Siege is the last bit of fun and community I see in online games these days. For me it's UO or nothing at this point, and that choice is easy....at least for now.

I should add to this some, I don't blame the dev team for this. I'm a software developer myself and know well of the horrors of management. Chances are their hands are tied and can only do things that "ensure" a profit. Still through that the signs of life, and the actual patching of bugs that have been around for a long....long time are encouraging.....a little. High seas is a mess still, and should not have been launched when it was, aside from a few ill informed changes lately things are ever so slightly improving. I know better than to hope, but still I'll wait and see.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Points taken, but for how long? I enjoy the hell out of this game, as im typing this im in the abyss kicken some pixelated ass. I really don`t want it to die.... I just don`t think it can really be saved.

The fact that you are here, that we are here, still posting, still caring about the fate of a 13yo MMO shows that it can...or just possibly that it should. *shrugs* It’s all a matter of perspective.

As long as UO remains profitable EA should allow it to continue. It may not necessarily prosper, unfortunately, but it should continue.

Hopefully, with the right leadership and the continued support of the EM program, UO could outlast even the new flashy MMOs.

 

[Lord Gareth]

The dev team has repeatedly patched a dam with nothing more than duct tape and bubble gum. UO is now approaching 14 years, something no other MMO community can say. Nobody who knows anything about the original code remembers anything about it, let alone works for EA anymore.

You need to read some of their resumes...

Do you really think the dev team gives a rats ass what color your clothing is? How damaged your boat gets?

*looks left* *looks right* Yes....they do

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

While you didn't like Trammel or AoS, most players apparently did.

Speculation at best. Have you actually polled every single UO player both past and present to determine if they like Trammel or AoS? Of course not. Also, there are likely many players (I used to be one) that don't really like AoS or Trammel...but simply tolerate them.

You seem to want to extrapolate data without considering all of the facts...it simply cannot be done. And in so doing, you seem to have appointed yourself a make-shift spokesperson for the UO players, both past and present, as a whole. I don't recall anyone anyone electing you, or anyone else, to that position.

If you want to make assumptions, no one can stop you...nor should they. You have every right to your opinions...just know, they are exactly that...opinions.

 

[Fat Midnight]

You need to read some of their resumes...




*looks left* *looks right* Yes....they do

Please send me a link showing me there experience.

Also no, I think they just do what they can. With all the budget cutting at Mythic the past couple of years... you don`t think they have there careers on there minds?


You might as well just lock this before it gets out of hand.


Im going to bed, if this plays out like I think it will, it will be moved to the "Rants" section, or locked by the time I wake up.

It may not necessarily prosper, unfortunately, but it should continue.

Wish/could/hope/should is not the same was "will do so". I don`t think UO can stay profitable.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Speculation at best. Have you actually polled every single UO player both past and present to determine if they like Trammel or AoS? Of course not. Also, there are likely many players (I used to be one) that don't really like AoS or Trammel...but simply tolerate them.

You seem to want to extrapolate data without considering all of the facts...it simply cannot be done. And in so doing, you seem to have appointed yourself a make-shift spokesperson for the UO players, both past and present, as a whole. I don't recall anyone anyone electing you, or anyone else, to that position.

Just as no one elected you spokesperson for the classic shard crusade. So please, dismount your Flaming Steed of Self-Righteousness.

If people hadn't liked UO after Trammel, why did the game see a large increase of players after? Why were the PvPers screaming about a lack of players in Fel? REAL hard to extrapolate the reason for that. Not.

While you merely tolerated Tram, the rest of us enjoyed the game without the constant need to watch our backs for Griefy McKills-a-lot and his band of merry thugs.

Yes, we can all agree that AoS wasn't really wanted, but it happened. EIGHT YEARS AGO. Time to get over it now, lest we think you have abandonment issues.

Those of us who enjoy the game, despite its many flaws and craptastic CS, are resoundingly in the majority. Do I have quotable numbers for this? No. Do you have ANY real numbers for ANYTHING you’ve said the last 9 months? No. However, I can read. I can talk to people. I can see that your crowd is a tiny fraction of those who bother posting on Stratics. A minority of a minority is still a minority.

Anyway, weren't you going to go play some free shard?

 

[Fat Midnight]

Just as no one elected you spokesperson for the classic shard crusade. So please, dismount your Steed of Self-Righteousness.

If people hadn't liked UO after Trammel, why did the game see a large increase of players after? Why were the PvPers screaming about a lack of players in Fel? REAL hard to extrapolate the reason for that. Not.

While you merely tolerated Tram, the rest of us enjoyed the game without the constant need to watch our backs for Griefy McKills-a-lot and his band of merry thugs.

Yes, we can all agree that AoS wasn't really wanted, but it happened. EIGHT YEARS AGO. Time to get over it now, lest we think you have abandonment issues.

Those of us who enjoy the game, despite its many flaws and craptastic CS, are resoundingly in the majority. Do I have quotable numbers for this? No. Do you have ANY real numbers for ANYTHING you’ve said the last 9 months? No. However, I can read. I can talk to people. I can see that your crowd is a tiny fraction of those who bother posting on Stratics. A minority of a minority is still a minority.

Anyway, weren't you going to go play some free shard?

Somehow I hope to disagree with both of you.

I love UO now, but I also love the UO of old. If they ever went the classic shard route, I would play both.

 

[Lady Storm]

Petra
I think this is ranting and downgrading the Dev and UO players
It's time to lock this thread..

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Yeah, let’s not have any real conversation or disagreements on U.Hall...

God Forbid.

 

[popps]

The dev team has repeatedly patched a dam with nothing more than duct tape and bubble gum. UO is now approaching 14 years, something no other MMO community can say. Nobody who knows anything about the original code remembers anything about it, let alone works for EA anymore.

But Ultima Online does have a much more recent client, the Enhanced Client, which is being continuously refined and fine tuned with bugs fixed etc.

As more players will pick it up, the old client that nobody known nothing about the original code will be abandoned and Ultima Online will be able to keep going with a renewed client and new life.

It is one of the few titles still making profit I hear, looks to me very good reasons to keep maintaining it.

Besides, I keep seeing old players coming back to it, sometimes even after many years that they once played it.

All signs of vitality for Ultima Online, IMHO.

 

[Woodsman]

Points taken, but for how long? I enjoy the hell out of this game, as im typing this im in the abyss kicken some pixelated ass. I really don`t want it to die.... I just don`t think it can really be saved.

It can be saved, but that requires taking a long term view and EA putting the money into things like major client and content development that would take a year or two at least. It's actually a shame, because they've got 18 months or so they could get something major done and in beta by the time the 15th anniversary rolled around.

When I say content development, I don't mean new lands either, I mean things like giving people a lot more reasons to visit existing lands, including the original lands of UO and T2A.

With all of the free press UO will get next year because of the anniversary, it would be a great time for EA to chase after new customers.

That is not the case though. Ideally, any serious long-term plans would have already been in place and been worked on starting last year. Instead we are getting these booster packs that are great for the short term and are great for generating profit from the existing user base. They are not good for bringing in new customers.

As I said in another thread, UO will make it through the 15th Anniversary - there is too much money to be made off of nostalgia and the free press it will get for it to be closed between now and then.

After that, who knows. I just came back, but I can see myself closing my accounts in a few months (and doing it wisely and banking everything instead of losing a lot in an IDOC) and then maybe re-opening them next year.

There is plenty of potential to save and even grow EA, but that requires a long-term thinking. Having done the corporate/software route, I can tell you that plenty of executives don't want to think that far ahead, not when they've got something generating a fairly steady revenue stream as it is.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

UO players are famous for paying for "bad service" yet we come back.
If you want real change, leave. Let UO die with what little dignity it has left.

TL;DR: the long and winding road....

INB4 Rants and Speils.

mmmmph!

Why not lead by example then ...
Let it die and fade from your memory

move on

or you just want some company for your misery? ...
buck up man ... make the call ... act ...

go gently in to the darkness ahead ...
no one really cares ... after all eh?

there
done
dead and buried ...
*dust hands*

whatcha hanging here for?
there's not even a hole to be staring into ...

at least TRY to handle yourself
on your own
now ...

bout time tisn't it?

I am Your: Fayled Dhreams
and I am quite unimpressed
with you.
Fiat Justia: Ruat Coleum!

 

[Woodsman]

Speculation at best. Have you actually polled every single UO player both past and present to determine if they like Trammel or AoS? Of course not.

Here in 2011, I can't believe this is still being brought up. It's been 10 years.

The Trammel debate should have been settled by the billions of reasons that Blizzard gets every year in offering choices of playstyles. Each one of those reasons has a $ in front of it. All of the other MMORPGs that have handily beat UO in subscriptions up through WOW have also offered a choice for players. It was not a coincidence that PVP was going to be toggled off by default in UO2 as well. There was a lot of feedback that went into UO2 and a lot of studying of UO.

Hell, if UO:R/Tramel hadn't been such a boon for EA's coffers, they might have canceled it and pushed UO2 out to us.

If you're going to hate Trammel, hate it because it divided the player base geographically, and confuses new players, and not because of the PVP vs PVM stuff. Hate AOS and some of the other changes because of the move towards item-based combat as well as easy skill gains. Hate them because instead of 50 people at the west Brit bank, there are 35 at the Tram WBB and 15 at the Fel WBB (or 10 and 5 these days) or 15 at the Tram WBB, 10 at the Fel WBB, and 25 at the Luna Bank.

Hate them because they were quick and easy fixes to a lack of land for housing. Don't hate them over the PVP/PVM stuff, because there was heavy competition from other MMORPGs that were available or about to be available and that offered PVM.

On a side note, dividing players is also why I oppose a classic shard. As much as I would be tempted to play a classic shard, I can't help but think that it would draw players away from Siege/Mugen as well as some of the other shards. That is not good. I'd rather them work on making Siege more attractive to the players that a classic shard would target. As much as I love Siege, after having spent 4 hours running around it, it needs help. If you want to bring players back who are playing free shards, bring them back to Siege and Mugen.

One thing I like about the booster packs, is that they seem intent on utilizing areas of the map that are not currently utilized, rather than adding new landmasses. It bothers me that they are not targeted towards bringing in new players, but I like the other aspects about them.

Going forward, in the realm of things that are realistic, next to a client (a single client, not two clients) that would attract new players, utilizing areas of the map that are currently dead/empty is one of the most important things they can do. They are not going to reverse the changes that made the game item-based and made skill gain so easy, but they can utilize dead/empty areas of the word.

People need to feel like they are a part of a vibrant world.

 

[Petra Fyde]

The fact that you are here, that we are here, still posting, still caring about the fate of a 13yo MMO shows that it can...or just possibly that it should. *shrugs* It’s all a matter of perspective.

As long as UO remains profitable EA should allow it to continue. It may not necessarily prosper, unfortunately, but it should continue.

Hopefully, with the right leadership and the continued support of the EM program, UO could outlast even the new flashy MMOs.

I've struggled through a multitude of downbeat, sky is falling, posts since I got up this morning. I was starting to feel depressed and downbeat myself, then I found this gem. A positive, upbeat post from Martyna. Thanks.

UO will continue, if we have anything to say about it. UO will live, this downbeat, negative thread is the thing that will die.