Do you think Stygian Abyss will ever be produced?

[imported_Ozymandies]

Can we even define SA at this point?

It had/has gargoyles, new dungeon, tinkering runics (?), enhance with chosen properties (?). Wasn't it said that these were now "assets". Does it have to be a box on the store-shelf to count?

UO has a history of anniversary editions, too. Will it all be bundled as 11th anniversary?

KR was released on fiscal schedule. Release June 30, depreciate July 1.

Put this altogether and my prediction is . . .

SA gets released on June 30 with whatever is done, the rest gets bundled into 11th anniversary. 11th anniversary gets the box for xmas sales, SA is upgrade code. Dungeon will be KR-only, but open to all. Upgrade gets the gargoyles, crafting changes. Gargoyles will rule, however, with the Stun Punch and other wrestling moves.

OZ

 

[J0KING]

So much doom and gloom... I have read sooo many posts from sooo many years about "this is the last year"...

I highly doubt they would have spent the money moving if they planned on shutting it down so soon... just a thought.

 

[Lord_Asterix]

<blockquote><hr>

So much doom and gloom... I have read sooo many posts from sooo many years about "this is the last year"...

I highly doubt they would have spent the money moving if they planned on shutting it down so soon... just a thought.

[/ QUOTE ]

They moved people so they could be ultilized with other games.

 

[Guest]

...

They moved people so they could be ultilized with other games.


Or they moved the team to better utilize resources with the Gamebryo client for this game.

The assumption can go either way.

I'm not giving the team an out, I'm just supplying the "other side" of possibility.

As it is, we NEED info right now. I know Jeremy may not like to read it, but it's true. Less info + broad speculation lend to assumptive posts passing themselves off as fact as if the poster knows what's going on.

I'm not claiming to know either thus the call for the info dump we've been waiting for, but I'm not trying to pass myself off in that manner either.

 

[Cellmate]

<blockquote><hr>

They moved people so they could be ultilized with other games.

[/ QUOTE ]

It seems this may well be the case. Or at least, they are merging the dev teams of UO &amp; DAoC into one team for both games.

The current ads for 3 Software Developers indicates that they will be working on UO &amp; DAoC jointly, not on each game separately:

From EA Jobs: ....EA Mythic is seeking a highly motivated software engineer to work on our active MMO titles, Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online. Specifically, we are looking for a software generalist who is comfortable writing both game play and systems code. The ideal candidate would have experience in implementing and improving systems code (such as rendering, networking, memory management) and game play (such as AI and player controls).

Perhaps the long awaited, and long overdue, announcement we are supposed to get from this so-called Development Manager Cal person, if he actually exists, might shed more light on this. Although I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[kennykilleduo]

Well part of the Dev team is all but missing or in stealth mode lately....

 

[Guest]

I think it will be sooner than later. I think they've hinted to bigger things to come with this current story line. It wouldn't surprise me if the end result of the current story arch was ended with the release of SA. But then again, that could just be wishful thinking. Hope they atleast have a gargoyle when it does come out.

 

[imported_Nestorius]

I really don't want to see anything the old Dev's did after this KR mess. Come on, Gargoyle Race?

 

[Guest]

Nope.

EA obviously yanked the funding for it. Many of us are very loyal to this game, but without a shelf presence, new blood will not flow in. It's folly to think we're getting in enough to replace the folks who are leaving for more mainstream MMORPGs.

I still feel KR was a desperate gamble to bring people back, and it obviously failed.

 

[imported_Lord GOD(GOD)]

<blockquote><hr>

Do you think Stygian Abyss will ever be produced?

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope not. I expect if it does it will be the usual, 2 new pets, nothing for bards and months of their resources being tied up (so no other content).

 

[imported_Coppelia]

I don't know if it will be released, but it should. UO is a MMORPG with a subscription fee, expansions you must pay and an online shop. It would be surprising that EA let alone one of the jackpot arms of UO.

Now they can do whatever they want, a KR-only expansion isn't the thing that will make me go on KR. On the contrary, I don't like to feel forced. Only positive things can make me go to KR, not restrictions.
And I won't buy SA if there are KR-only areas. Also I won't buy a 7th character slot until I have SA, in order to make a gargoyle. So if they want my money, they'd better have more arguments than "SA Dungeon is KR-only because it has sparkles!".

 

[Sir_Bolo]

1) Leurocian has left the Live Team, but he is still the Lead Designer for UO and he is working on some unspecified project. The last time he went "undercover", he was assigned to work on Mondain's Legacy...

2) We are going to get some "Epic Event" in late May which cannot be described in more detail for "legal and marketing reasons" according to Cal.

I'm pretty sure this means that EA is going to use the "Epic Event" to announce "something" for UO to be released in summer. If this "something" is the Stygian Abyss expansion I cannot say...

My guess is this:

- We will get a descoped version of the Stygian Abyss expansion available for download only. The Abyss will be accessible to 2D and KR, and it will be smaller than anticipated, but still the biggest dungeon in all of UO
- Some of the features originally announced for SA will never see the light of the day. Either no gargoyle race (

), or no new skills, or no complete crafting system revamp (it makes more sense to improve crafting through Live publishes than in an expansion anyway...)

 

[Guest]

Hail: We have been down this road so many times i have holes in my vine cord sandals..........

NO, NO, No it is Dead, at least for now. But, how do we know this you ask? Over a year, and not 1 single post from anyone from EA on SA. I get more info from them on Warhammer than anything UO releated.

Next. What happens when you have a new, large, lets save the game, type expansion? It gets finished, pending testing. It goes into closed Beta. Things get fixed. It goes out to PC Gamer, and others for them to preview and advertise it. Then open beta, and more stuff gets fixed, a release date is set, and it is in a store near you.............

Have any of these things happened? No. To listen to people who say YES, it is almost hear, is to think this way........

I believe: The game SA Expansion is a Secret, so no one will steal the ideas, or put Gargolys into their game. The fixes to the KR client will come out with the Release. There is no need to open/close beta test it, as this is a waste of time. If the Game magazines want to preview it, they can go buy it at the store like everyone else. Everyone knows UO, and we don't need any bloody advertising......or badges..........

I took my rose colored glasses off a long time ago.....