New UO market niche - Netbooks

[curlybeard]

Okay so I've been running UO on my Eee-PC netbook for a couple of months now. It really is the perfect game for the new class of cheap ultraportables. The UO screen resolution is perfect for the small screen and it runs very well on the stable version of Wine that comes with most linux distros (1.0.1). I now can get my UO fix pretty much wherever I go as long as there is a wifi hotspot (or really anywhere with a usb mobile broadband card). The 1GB install size means that UO can fit on the small SSD that comes with these devices, it can also run off an SD card (which is what I do) or a USB flash drive. I think it runs better under Wine than under Windows. I don't think any of UOs competitors can run as well on the limited specs of the netbook.

I am curious, has anyone else tried this really great combination to get their ultra-portable UO fix?

I have an ASUS Eee-PC 900a (intel atom 1.6 GHz with 1 GB RAM and ubuntu eee 8.10 running wine 1.1.8). That netbook even runs on powersave mode (800 MHz) most of the time while playing UO.

 

[deadite]

Awesome. I have been wanting to get an eee since they came out, but I keep putting it off, waiting for the next iteration. UO was the one MMO I figured would run well on those little guys. But it might be interesting to also try running Asheron's Call or even M59...

I'm really tempted to go ahead and get one of these this season now...

 

[drinkbeerallday]

this makes sense, which is exactly why EA won't be doing it.

the age of the laptop computer is really over... it will be all netbooks and tablets from here on out.

 

[Gandie]

this makes sense, which is exactly why EA won't be doing it.

[

 

[curlybeard]

Yeah the price is right: $280 for the Eee-PC 900a and then $35 for an 8GB SD card (though the SSD is a bit slow on this model... other models have x3 speed read and x4 write with larger capacity and higher price, but this doesn't affect UO) Some Eee-PCs have XP and a regular HD. Avoid the 900MHz Celeron XP model(the Eee-PC 900).

Do your research on the various Eee-PC models as there are a ton out right now. get the Intel Atom!

Could EA make UO available in a deb repository (dependent on Wine)?

I didn't try the UO install under Wine, just moved the files over from my windows box. This keeps all the hotkeys, though the UO desktop will need to be moved around a bit to accommodate the lower resolution on the Eee.

There aren't as many games out for linux and UO could position itself well as the netbook market is driving demand for linux (and therefore linux apps)

 

[Trevelyan]

this makes sense, which is exactly why EA won't be doing it.

the age of the laptop computer is really over... it will be all netbooks and tablets from here on out.

I disagree hugely. If anything, the desktop PC would be more likely to be dead in the future than a laptop. Look at mobile phones - they can get smaller and smaller but some are just too damn fiddly. Laptops might well get slimmer, lighter, more robust, but a big screen is very useful, as is a larger keyboard layout, especially for the visually impaired or just those who like to see stuff on a large screen.

I have UO running on a 22 inch widescreen, with a whole load of black area around the main game window - sometimes I go back to my old monitor just so that I can see stuff larger but I dont think that small screens are for everyone. Netbooks probably aren't for everyone and I think that, as useful UO's small installation and screensize can be, it really isn't a set of features that should be focused on for market success.

tl;dr - Laptops arent going anywhere and I dont see netbooks taking over the market.

Though I would definately buy a phone if it would let me (cheaply) play UO on it, wherever I was. GPRS/WAP is a bit pricey and I wouldnt risk playing games over company/university networks.

 

[Uvtha]

I disagree hugely. If anything, the desktop PC would be more likely to be dead in the future than a laptop. Look at mobile phones - they can get smaller and smaller but some are just too damn fiddly. Laptops might well get slimmer, lighter, more robust, but a big screen is very useful, as is a larger keyboard layout, especially for the visually impaired or just those who like to see stuff on a large screen.

Agreed. Im excited for a laptop that has really good touch screen instead of a keyboard. It would really please me.

 

[drinkbeerallday]

tl;dr - Laptops arent going anywhere and I dont see netbooks taking over the market.

you seem to ignore that said i said netbooks AND tablets. not just netbooks.

also netbooks will advance.

powerful desktops will always be around for storage, media authoring, etc.. even into the future. workstations will be replaced by the return of the terminal. which will basically be a netbook hiding in a lightweight screen.

so "Terminals" and Netbooks will replace Workstations and Laptops

Desktops will become "Home Servers" (they already are really) with "Terminals" around the house.. for example a touch screen on your refrigerator.

You will be able to unfold a screen onto a table and summon google maps. After all the best way to look at a map is to unfold one onto a table.

 

[Maplestone]

I am curious, has anyone else tried this really great combination to get their ultra-portable UO fix?

Not I, but you have me very curious

 

[Katlene]

i have a eee 900 and i have UO installed but im running windows on it.
ive not exactly gone walk about somewhere and played UO but i could if i wanted heh

 

[Cazzador]

After reading this I went looking on line and found a Eee PC Netbook with Intel® Atom would this run UO? and do you have to twik the game in any way to be able to run it?

 

[Littleblue]

I think I would love to have this at work. Or maybe even a nice tablet.

I work in the medical field as a network/systems engineer, and we get to play with some neat gadgets when we set them up for the Doctors. I would love to have something like these mentioned, even if it was slightly used. I will start paying more attention to the hardware upgrades that maybe coming along for our surgeons on-the-go.

 

[Silly Seadog]

You will be able to unfold a screen onto a table and summon google maps. After all the best way to look at a map is to unfold one onto a table.

Arrrrr, when ye unfolds it, it projects the map onto the wall. Or ceiling. Or 3D in mid-air!

 

[Wenchkin]

I don't see any reason why a linux netbook wouldn't run UO just fine. I've had no real hitch running KR on linux systems, but I wouldn't fancy running XP on a very small drive at the same time. But if you get the CD with the system, you've got the option to try linux and see if it suits you, or use XP if it doesn't.

The netbooks are getting better and better now there's so much interest in them, and those who prefer a larger screen and keyboard should be able to plug their netbook into a monitor/keyboard etc like you can laptops. Which for me makes more sense if you're going portable. You end up with something easy to carry with battery life that can be docked when you get home.

I hope that EA try what some other developers have, to at least make their games suitable for Wine emulation so linux users can access it. I'm happy enough running windows games through Wine if they run ok. It would be fantastic to have full linux versions of everything, but Wine compatibility would be enough for EA to score extra sales to linux users.

I think smart developers will try and open up to as many markets as they can, because I think it would be daft to ignore all those linux distros and hope that windows stayed as the primary OS of choice. I'm not saying it will be overtaken by linux tomorrow, but we just can't say for certain what will happen now.

Wenchy

 

[curlybeard]

After reading this I went looking on line and found a Eee PC Netbook with Intel® Atom would this run UO? and do you have to twik the game in any way to be able to run it?

The short answer is Yes it will run UO and No you do not have to tweak the game, though you need to have Wine installed and run the game through Wine if you are using Linux.

I run the ASUS 900a, the a is for intel atom. Though I prefer Ubuntu Linux to the Xandros distro on the Asus. The Dell mini9 has Ubuntu installed. Install stable Wine from the distro repository. You can use the GUI package manager or simply type in a terminal window "sudo apt-get install wine". Next move your UO folder from your windows machine to the SD card (or SSD if you have a netbook with more than 4 GB). So I have UO in a folder called UO on my SD card so to run in wine I use the following command in terminal: "wine /media/disk/UO/uo.exe" and it then proceeds exactly the same as windows. You can make an icon that runs the above command so you don't even need to use terminal. Of course if you get WinXP netbook then it works like normal, but what is the fun in that.

Also if you buy the ASUS and want ubuntu linux just google ubuntu eee as there is a special flavor of ubuntu specifically for the Eee that works out-of-the-box. You just need to burn the downloaded .ISO to a CD then install.

Right now I am trying a Puppy Linux variant called Pupeee (installed on a USB drive). Pupeee is fast as the entire OS is ~140 MB and loads in to RAM on boot.

 

[Wenchkin]

I think several of the better known linux distros are working really well on the Eee now which is great. I know Mandriva have made the 2009 distro work with Ees, though 2008 did too from what I gather. Pity I haven't got an Eee, I've got a stack of distro disks at hand that I could play with then

Wenchy

 

[Cazzador]

I found this and really want to buy it. What do you guys think?
Inspiron Mini 12Intel®Atom®Processor Z530 (1.6GHz/533MHz FSB/512K Cache)
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Basic Edition SP1
60GB4 PATA Hard Drive (4200 RPM)
Intel®Graphics Media Accelerator 500
Would I have any problems just instaling the game and palying it, and that would be 2d right?
Thank you very much for help!

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

As long as it doesn't stunt the potential technological growth of the game and/or client, fine by me to work within that niche market.

 

[curlybeard]

I found this and really want to buy it. What do you guys think?
Inspiron Mini 12Intel®Atom®Processor Z530 (1.6GHz/533MHz FSB/512K Cache)
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Basic Edition SP1
60GB4 PATA Hard Drive (4200 RPM)
Intel®Graphics Media Accelerator 500
Would I have any problems just instaling the game and palying it, and that would be 2d right?
Thank you very much for help!

That looks like a decent spec machine, but Vista on a netbook? Not sure how well that would run (need at least 2 GB of RAM, which cost $28 if you buy the upgrade from crucial). You might be maxing the capabilities of the intel atom processor and intel GMA just with the OS. make sure you try out the machine before buying. The intel atom is designed for cell phones and small platforms, it has reduce capabilties and sacrifices some of advantages of the i686 chips for size and efficiency. It is not comparable to a 1.6 Ghz Core 2 Due chip, frankly I am surprised that they would install vista.

OR

If you are planning on dumping Vista for an nLite WinXP install or linux you should be fine.

 

[curlybeard]

...

As long as it doesn't stunt the potential technological growth of the game and/or client, fine by me to work within that niche market.

UO is so old that is runs fine on low spec low resolution netbooks as is, no added development. I was just thinking out loud about possible marketing avenue, if EA ever does decide to market the game again.

 

[CatLord]

So... soon we'll be playing uo on our mobiles?

WEEEEE!!!!

 

[laurlo]

never tried it.. but hrm