NEWS [UO.Com] Good Morning, Sosaria!

[UO News]

2/4/25 In 1998, during middle school gym class, my friend told me about this game where you could literally do anything you wanted—you could even have a pet dragon! I remember going to the local game store and asking the guy at the counter if The Second Age came with the first age. Little did I know that question would spark the beginning of a journey that has led me here today. Like many of you, I have spent thousands and thousands of hours in Britannia, living in a world born of mystic arts and ancient sorcery. When the opportunity […]

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[Merlin]

 

[hungry4knowhow]

This could be really good news. I'm hopeful. Will it spell the end as Mesanna prophicized(sp?) years ago (game would die without her as producer)? I hope not.

 

[Pawain]

This could be really good news. I'm hopeful. Will it spell the end as Mesanna prophicized(sp?) years ago (game would die without her as producer)? I hope not.

No she said she would be the last producer, because she thought she would never grow older and be healthy forever.

 

[Keven2002]

No she said she would be the last producer, because she thought she would never grow older and be healthy forever.

I'm guessing she didn't think the game would last as long as it did. It's not a knock against her... I've read the sky is falling posts from users for at least a decade. That combine with the likely thought that she could "easily do it for 5-10 years"... here we are 10+ years later and she didn't think she would see a time where the game is still here and she wants to do other things.

I think it's going to be a good thing and applaud her for making the move to allow the game to move forward and hopefully go another 30 years.

 

[Pawain]

I'm guessing she didn't think the game would last as long as it did. It's not a knock against her... I've read the sky is falling posts from users for at least a decade. That combine with the likely thought that she could "easily do it for 5-10 years"... here we are 10+ years later and she didn't think she would see a time where the game is still here and she wants to do other things.

I think it's going to be a good thing and applaud her for making the move to allow the game to move forward and hopefully go another 30 years.

No, it was pretty recent as the years go. I think it was during one of the last 4 M&Gs. Before the time that someone was sick.

RL happens and people change priorities. I'm all for people being able to not work and enjoy this short life that we have.

What would be nice to know is, Is Bleak still QA? Are they going to get another developer from Broadsword. Remember they obtained another game that had too many developers, maybe we can get one of those.

I don't see communication changing much, other than more snippets. Have you asked Kyronix anything on TC? He wont tell you anything about the mechanics of what is being added. He is Mr Grind and Mr secret. But, I like the things they have made together over the last dozen years, so I trust him to make more of the same.

 

[Pawain]

O ya I guess Richard Garriott was not considered as the replacement.

 

[Jynxx]

O ya I guess Richard Garriott was not considered as the replacement.

Yeah......didn't he say something about taking it back recently?

 

[Khaelor]

What would be nice to know is, Is Bleak still QA? Are they going to get another developer from Broadsword. Remember they obtained another game that had too many developers, maybe we can get one of those.

Bleak is the engineer
Kyronix was one of the designers and is now producer
Parallax is one of the designers
Misk is QA
Onifrk is an artist
Bee Lee is an artist

 

[ShriNayne]

I can't say I'm unhappy about Messanna stepping down but I don't think this will make much difference, Kyronix thinks everything should be a huge grind. I really wish they had got someone else. Does this mean that Misk will be going too? Not that anyone would notice...

 

[Veldrane]

I can't say I'm unhappy about Messanna stepping down but I don't think this will make much difference, Kyronix thinks everything should be a huge grind. I really wish they had got someone else. Does this mean that Misk will be going too? Not that anyone would notice...

We'll see how this goes. I'm glad Messanna is stepping down. She just didn't have the mindset to be the captain of the ship. The question is, can Kryonix be more than just a developer, as that is what it takes to be a producer? His temperament is certainly better for public facing, but does he have the project/product management mindset?

Concerns
1. In the past he has leaned toward making systems overly complicated and grindy.
2. Some of his private messages that certain trolls have shared show that he doesn't understand the root concern many of us had with Bonnie.
3. It sounds like he has never worked on another game; most times, that does not lead toward innovation growth. I see this with clients who have worked nowhere else their entire career. They're so locked into the "way it has always been done." Time will tell.

Pros
1. Way better at handling the community publicly
2. Has actual development experience

I wish him the best and hope he is the producer that we have been hungry for. A piece of advice from someone who's been in SDLC for twenty years. Hire a project/program manager and those guys from Outland.

 

[Naitch]

I can't say I'm unhappy about Messanna stepping down but I don't think this will make much difference, Kyronix thinks everything should be a huge grind. I really wish they had got someone else. Does this mean that Misk will be going too? Not that anyone would notice...

zing !

 

[Anon McDougle]

Well the first request for communication was met with communication so I have hope.

 

[Pawain]

Well the first request for communication was met with communication so I have hope.

Ya he said don't tag me. Tag the CM.

 

[Anon McDougle]

Ya he said don't tag me. Tag the CM.

Still more communication in one day than 10 years from Mesanna

 

[Keven2002]

3. It sounds like he has never worked on another game; most times, that does not lead toward innovation growth. I see this with clients who have worked nowhere else their entire career. They're so locked into the "way it has always been done." Time will tell.

This is something I learned quite some time ago; ask the question of "why" something is done. It's wild how often the answer is some variation of "Not sure, that's how it's always been done" or "that's how I was shown how to do it". This is always the first thing I look to address when trying to redesign or re-engineer something because there are likely some outdated/inefficient things in that process.

I think we might differ on having a PM hired because I think that's one of the key pieces of the Producer in my opinion; basically guide ideas from creation to implementation while removing roadblocks and communicating along the way. It's an over simplification for sure, as I'm sure he will need to pitch in on the Dev work too, but I think being "boots on the ground" PMing will allow him to speak to things better. That's where I think Mesanna largely fell short; she didn't really seem like she had a good grasp on what was being done and while yes a PM directly linked into her could have helped...she could have just as easily done it herself.

It will be interesting to see how UO operates now with a new producer AND with NL officially up and running (lack of content due to "we are fully focusing on NL" doesn't work anymore). I am hopeful that we get more frequent content; even if it's the dynamic events mixed in with one "new" content arc a year. It's been enjoyable for me over the last few months to feel the desire to log into UO in the few extra hours a week I have and want something mindless to do.

 

[Veldrane]

I think we might differ on having a PM hired because I think that's one of the key pieces of the Producer in my opinion; basically guide ideas from creation to implementation while removing roadblocks and communicating along the way. It's an over simplification for sure, as I'm sure he will need to pitch in on the Dev work too, but I think being "boots on the ground" PMing will allow him to speak to things better. That's where I think Mesanna largely fell short; she didn't really seem like she had a good grasp on what was being done and while yes a PM directly linked into her could have helped...she could have just as easily done it herself.

No, we're on the same page regarding the PM. I recommendation of bringing on a product/program manager is based on Kryonix have zero Project Management experience and his only industry related job being working on UO. This is not a dig on Kryonix but rather the advice of "play to your strengths and knows your weakenesses"