[UO Herald] House of Commons update

[HD2300]

...

So what exactly did they commit to doing, specifically with higher res art and the EC?

That they would be releasing art updates for the EC in "chunks" so they could get it out and so we could be seeing improvement.

from YouTube - Ultima Online - Stratics House of Commons 3/1/11, Part 4 - TGN and March 1, 2011 UO Video House of Commons Transcript Part 4 | UOJournal.com

Off Camera: Let’s talk technical for a second. Can we talk more about the enhanced artwork, is (or it’s ?) it going to have high resolution versions of what we have or new, etc., etc.
Cal: I thought we kind of just talked about that.
Supreem: Well a little bit. Umm..We’re really just starting to talk about it. It’s in the plans and um..I don’t know, it could go either way.
*lots of looks are being exchanged at this point*
Cal: Right. Umm..the first look is umm…Can you mute the mike really quick (microphone) Can you do that.
Off Camera: Yes I can, hold on one moment
Cal: Okay
UOJournal note: audio is muted, screen is flashing a UO logo, this is around 45 minutes in
Cal: Right cool
Mesanna: And we’ll into
Cal: Alright we’re on, we’re live
Mesanna: and let you know(UOJournal note sure on phrasing)
*laughter*
Cal: So, we’ll let you know as we know more.
Supreem: It’s still too early to say
Mesanna: That was a lot of discussion
*Laughter*
Cal: So what I’d really like is cake. I love cake.

"HOC Video: We’re really just starting to talk about it [high res enhanced artwork]. It’s in the plans and um..I don’t know, it could go either way."

So regarding Enhanced Artwork they just started talking about it, just like they were talking about a Classic Shard this time last year, and there has been no commitment yet.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

Off Camera: More questions, a mention of high resolution artwork was made on the short video, is there any update on that or plans that one can be made aware of.

Cal: Umm..I can say one thing..umm…and that it’s not going to be just one blast of an art update…Umm..we’ll be doing it in pieces. One so you guys can see progress, and then two so that it actually looks like it’s planned, and then three, so we don’t miss anything.

*ahem*

 

[Sargon]

I guess I just have to admit that I am not the target demographic for this game anymore. After reading the HoC log, there is nothing of any substance to me (short of the Enhanced Client work, which I will believe when I see). The development team always seems to have their own list of priorities that never matches the things that are actually important to the players. How much time has been spent on the destruction (and subsequent rebuilding) of Magincia, only to leave us with more housing locations? I just wish we could get something meaningful for once that showed us that UO isn't simply on cruise control. Even taking the classic shard response out of the picture, this HoC was a colossal disappointment.

 

[G.v.P]

Thank you for all of the hard work .

I copy and pasted from the other thread, so not much, heh. I wouldn't have even known about it if I hadn't met one of the people behind it at an EM event.

Once upon a time there were...at least three active members on these boards who didn't know about those links! Enter Woodsman ;P...and the sky fell with thanks.

This video format does not work at all. The developers are always going back and forth wondering if they can reveal this or talk about that. The only way a video format will work is if they determine what can and can not be discussed prior to the chat.

Interesting how some like the fact that a video is more personal yet others feel the video is a wasted format because they should, pretty much, be flawless human beings capable of predicting 100% of what we ask them. I mean am I right, or am I right, lol?

No one is perfect, and if they want to keep some things spoilers (whether they need to keep a project on the low-down or whether they want to prevent being burned if they can't deliver the goods in a timely manner) then they gotta do it. I'd rather have video silence (deliberate, muted silence) than chat silence (...and then it's over). It's about communication though, and maybe they don't have much to say, which is a problem in itself.

 

[Woodsman]

I just wish we could get something meaningful for once that showed us that UO isn't simply on cruise control.

I think the artwork is meaningful and maybe a sign about the direction of UO.

They have two options and they haven't decided, but they already have a plan for implementing it, which means it's further along in the planning process than a lot of things. Somebody well above Cal has signed off on it since they are even debating whether to have all new art or to use existing high resolution versions.

One option is to pull in existing artwork (including KR). There is higher resolution artwork available, both prior to KR and after KR. They aren't doing the artwork in the resolution we currently see - what we are seeing is artwork that is scaled down. It's been that way since I believe around ML when the pipeline was rebuilt. This is the cheapest and easiest route to getting higher resolution artwork into the game. It also makes it extremely easy to give us in batches.

The other is to bring in new art resources and do new artwork, which has advantages. EA is a big company and has games in development at all times with large art departments. They just finished up with the Sims: Medieval, and Dragon Age 2 (produced within the same group as UO), just as examples that we might recognize. There is also the Beast of BioWare: Star Wars: The Old Republic. All three of those projects consumed or are consuming a lot of art resources. Those art resources are already within EA and would be cheaper to utilize than hiring new employees. They still have a cost associated with them though.

Pulling in additional art resources from other games or groups would cost UO and would have to be signed off at a level that is several pay levels above Cal, towards the upper part of BioWare. You can't just take a $10 million a year game and pull in a few million in art assets without somebody upstairs being given a good presentation and believing that it would pay off in the long run.

If there was no chance of the resources for completely new artwork being made available to UO, we would have been told that not only is it being sent out in batches, but that it was higher resolution versions of what we already have available. It's a short and simple answer, and would probably satisfy many existing players who would just like to be able to zoom in and not be pixelated to death. More importantly, it's also the cheapest solution to bring UO at least partially up to something that could attract new MMO players.

The fact that we don't have an answer either way, is an answer in and of itself. That means that the issue is being debated, and probably a few levels above Cal's head.

I guess what I'm saying, is the fact that they are debating whether to use what they already have (cheapest/simplest route), or to pay for brand new artwork is important.

 

[HD2300]

...

Off Camera: More questions, a mention of high resolution artwork was made on the short video, is there any update on that or plans that one can be made aware of.

Cal: Umm..I can say one thing..umm…and that it’s not going to be just one blast of an art update…Umm..we’ll be doing it in pieces. One so you guys can see progress, and then two so that it actually looks like it’s planned, and then three, so we don’t miss anything.

*ahem*

"HOC Video: We’re really just starting to talk about it [high res enhanced artwork]. It’s in the plans and um..I don’t know, it could go either way."

We’re really just starting to talk about it and I don’t know, it could go either way is very far from a commitment (when and what) to revamp all the graphics (the what) within say a 12 month period (the when).
A question for the EC expert.. Can the community change art assets used in the EC with a mod, such as the ground textures?

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

No, we can only change the art textures of the UI. Anything inside the game window (or containers) that is an actual part of the game itself we cannot touch (at least noit without illegally (in game terms) hacking the *art*.UOP files in the manner that the 2d "stump hack" does.

To my knowledge, there is not yet an InsideKR or InsideEC package to even look at theingame art assets (if there is one, it has not been widely released), so to my knowledge, ability to hack the client in that manner is not yet active.

Basically any of the *.dds files in the EC folders we can change graphically. Outside of the UI itself, the only ones available are the maps for the radar, atlas, and ingame maps which is rather pointless at this time.

 

[Woodsman]

Tonight it was posted on Facebook that they are finished with the document/plan for the enhanced graphics and are close to releasing details to the public. They just need to run it past PR.

That makes me wonder why they bothered with dodging it the other night, it sounds like they have a plan that is ready and that the executives signed off on.

That also makes me think they are going with existing art work in a higher resolution format and/or KR artwork. No complaints from me as long as it looks sharper and scales well.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

You mean the same PR that got ahold of the "video diary"?

Why does that worry me?

 

[Woodsman]

Yeah well....

The big thing is that the higher-ups approved it, whatever it is.

 

[HD2300]

I'm guessing that PR deleted that Facebook post.

Astroturfing is a form of advocacy often in support of a political or corporate agenda designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some political entity—a politician, political group, product, service or event. The term is a derivation of AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to look like natural grass.

Astroturfers attempt to orchestrate the actions of apparently diverse and geographically distributed individuals, by both overt ("outreach", "awareness", etc.) and covert (disinformation) means.

 

[Woodsman]

I'm guessing that PR deleted that Facebook post.

You're probably not familiar with Facebook but click on the "View all comments" link underneath the Ultima Online 3rd Video House of Commons entry. It's still there

 

[Woodsman]

Here's a picture of it taken about a minute ago

 

[HD2300]

I'm guessing that PR deleted that Facebook post.

You're probably not familiar with Facebook but click on the "View all comments" link underneath the Ultima Online 3rd Video House of Commons entry. It's still there

Well then, it is good that it has now moved past the "HOC Video: We’re really just starting to talk about it [high res enhanced artwork]. It’s in the plans and um..I don’t know, it could go either way." stage to 'it is one of our priorities... a bit more details soon' in just only 2 days.

Its almost like magic, from really nothing to something in just only 2 days. That is why it is good for players to be vocal.

 

[HD2300]

04:53 AM - Here's a picture of it taken about a minute ago

LMAO its like posted just after 'We’re really just starting to talk about it..' was posted at 11:24 PM

This is place is truly magical, or am I just making stuff up as I go along.

 

[JC the Builder]

Interesting how some like the fact that a video is more personal yet others feel the video is a wasted format because they should, pretty much, be flawless human beings capable of predicting 100% of what we ask them. I mean am I right, or am I right, lol?

No one is perfect, and if they want to keep some things spoilers (whether they need to keep a project on the low-down or whether they want to prevent being burned if they can't deliver the goods in a timely manner) then they gotta do it. I'd rather have video silence (deliberate, muted silence) than chat silence (...and then it's over). It's about communication though, and maybe they don't have much to say, which is a problem in itself.

It has nothing to do with being perfect. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence when the UO producer does not know what he can and can not talk about. It is also very frustrating for them to even bring up subjects they can not talk about.

Question: What are you guys doing with factions?
Cal to Mesanna: Can we talk about all the awesome stuff we are doing?
Messanna: *nods no*
Cal: Uh, maybe next time.

I think it would be much better if such exchanges were not revealed to us. Cal might have said it jokingly, but he mentioned that they spoiled the house raffle when it was supposed to be revealed later. They are just not coordinated and I don't think they can spare the time to put on a good production like this. Ideally this should all be handled by the community support and public relations departments. But it doesn't look like EA has those anymore.