Good article on mmorpg.com regarding games in need of overhauls (not OT)

[Kiminality]

www.linkrealms.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9L1uHJHaX0

NOTE: Only one of these games is actually released, so we will have to wait and see how the other three turn out..

I got in the beta for Link Realms. Which coincided with getting a new job and being unable to do any real testing...
It was still very early days, and I got a bit of a tour from one of the staff. I commented on the similarities to UO, and my Dogtanian-esque guide said that one of their developers was a big fan of UO.

The whole thing worked quite nicely, with fixed perspective view, but 3D rendered. Playing it felt more like UO (client-wise) than our recent new clients, although it seemed quite mechanically bewildering (which is perhaps what new players to UO face).
What it lacked, however, was the consistent world feel that UO has. I know it was in beta, but the point stands for UO by itself, that everything descends from the original design of a virtual world. To run a minimal risk of losing that, the developers need to build new clients and advancements on top of it.
Consider a city. You can improve the infrastructure and everything about it, and while some mightn't be happy about how those changes affect the city, it's still the same city. If you build a new perfect city in the likeness of the old city, a lot of people won't want to just relocate to the new city, improved or not.

TL;DR version - There's more to the appeal of a game than the mechanics and presentation.

 

[AirmidCecht]

A few years ago, the devs of the time agreed that the game needed to be redone. All those exploits that people complain about? Extremely hard to fix with the current client (2D), but possible in a new client. That's what KR was supposed to be, and SA. Except some of the players complained about every change made.

The original plan for SA was to be accessed by the SA client only, and to slowly phase out 2D. But too many players said they'd quit if that happened. And then those same players complained about there being fewer bug and exploit fixes in the game, since now they have to work on TWO clients at once, one of which wasn't designed to be easily fixed.

Go figure.

*opens up crumpled paper on her desk once again and reads*

"Ahem, one client with all the 2D legacy options enabled = win, win. When I first bought UO I didn't ask what "client" I was on, I just played. The same for SA. If we were all on one SA client and able to view aesthetically what we wanted in classic or modern with UI as well, I think bug fixes, patches and publishes would be much easier and quicker to get out. Then the EC could be tweaked gloriously with new graphics updates ect, while those nostalgic could live in 2D worlds and never be the wiser or happier."

The article was good in that it highlighted UO on its 12th year on September 25th as being the start of it all *big grin*

 

[Alezi]

UO:SA should look more like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSqjoZ-HOzM

 

[Drawde2]

Best way to solve cheats is for the MMO company's to go out and sue the people who sell gold items for RL cash, Brokers sellers are the sole reason behind the need to dupe, script. They need to go after the guy who writes the famous scripting program sue him onto the streets, that guy alone has cost EA/UO millions throughout the years due to lost subs and reputation. Make them all an example of what could happen.

Not possible. Those companies are based in other contries, with differing laws. Which is one of the reasons they are there (besides cheap labor): they CAN'T be hit legally.

Don't know about the script creator though. I imagine it's either that, or they can't legally track him down.

 

[Coldren]

Game developers have all tried to make games based off of what UO was, and many times, they have failed.. The whole "If someone made a MMO with UO's play experience, but was modern, I'd be there in a heartbeat" it is bull.. There is plenty of games with the same diversity, open worlds, no leveling, real-time combat, housing you name it.. Here I will give off a few games..

www.mortalonline.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzPJ7Vef_FY

www.darkfallonline.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1k3hsv0tfU

www.dawntide.net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLm4poHqjY0

www.linkrealms.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9L1uHJHaX0

NOTE: Only one of these games is actually released, so we will have to wait and see how the other three turn out..

Of those companies, how many have the budget, development experience, resources, marketing, or supply chain of EA/Bioware/Mythic?

On top of that, of the two that could see the light of day, fixed first-person view and FPS targeting? How is that like UO? Free-For-All Full Loot PvP and skill trees does not a UO make.

EA is the only one in a position (Maybe Blizzard or Turbine could do it) to take the time and resources to recreate anything remotely like UO. You can't compare small euorpean development houses with big dreams to multi-billion dollar conglomerates.

 

[the 4th man]

Congrats, you're like the 1 millionth person to say that. Been said for the past 5 years at least. And yet it is still going.

Come back in another 2 years and say it again, maybe by then you will gain the honor of also being the 1.5 millionth person to say it


But yeah, at the moment UO is fine!
I would love for it to have a real 3d client though.

But I do think they really need to update their coding! Update it to the point where one little change wont run the risk of messing up something completely different and unrelated.

You hit it on the head with that one......if I had a million in gold for every time those words were typed....I'd be the richest guy in UO.

Face it, old is not bad.....look at the new mustangs, they had to come back with a style from the late 60's to make it sell afters years of screwing with it.......well, it'ss still missing a solid body, and the chrome.