13 yr of this game, nothing has ever been on time or right the first time. always bugs, always problems and always late.
-
Hail Guest! We're looking for Community Content Contribuitors to Stratics. If you would like to write articles, fan fiction, do guild or shard event recaps, it's simple. Find out how in this thread: Community Contributions
-
Greetings Guest, Having Login Issues? Check this thread!
-
Hail Guest!, Please take a moment to read this post reminding you all of the importance of Account Security.
-
Hail Guest! Please read the new announcement concerning the upcoming addition to Stratics. You can find the announcement Here!
- Status
Read the early comments in this thread...
It has been more than 12 months since the Classic shard carrot has been dangled. see link to State of the Game 2010 on 12 Feb 2010.
3 times a commitment has been made to give the community yes or no decision, and three times Mythic et al. has failed to meet their own commitment. A simple yes or no, which only takes 1 minute to post. The manager of another UO forum put it best... anything Mythic et al. says should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.
N
Naisikras
Guest
PR IS DONE WITH THE VIDEO!!!! Yes!!!! now they just need to send it to the QA team.
T
Trebr Drab
Guest
And a lemon and some tequila, and we'll all be happy.
Where did you see that?
I think it was sarcasm. Because after QA it has to go to legal. Once legal is done with it it has to go back to PR to take out all the "legal talk".
F
Fayled Dhreams
Guest
mmmm
no ...
It'll never get out of QA until its vetted as a stable beta
THEN ... its back to marketing
THEN ... too stanky of the lawyerly
THEN back to community relations (much finger tapping, awaiting just who got the short stick; once the aha! gotcha memo hits that desk ... *blip* sorry, I just got a better job as an intern at a start up, send that little pearl back to HR to await the next ...)
Now well past spring break
It would be expedient to "review" the script, the edit and the game play polish to >be sure< that "the content" reflects the current status of game play and subscriptions in light of youtube content having been bought out by facebook which is pending a harsh review by the FCC for repeated violations of international copyright's, labor laws, privacy rights and a "conspiracy theory" that has been gaining traction ever since the congressional hearings re: FCC bandwidth restrictions that were triggered when apple-google-att-verizon were caught in a seeming pyramid scheme of insider trading of longrange wireless dongles that were being manufactured in sweatshops in china populated with tibetian monks children being held hostage until a constitutional amendment imposed by the Chinese on the buddhists for violating "human rights" with their insistance on repeatedly being re-incarnated.
And possibly interfering with the "coming this summer" Booster announcement.
Then, having been quickly resolved by mid-august, the www "upgrade" implementation of the new IP standard will crash the dns servers that were manufactured in Taiwan and were unable to (by just one bit, soooo close) compensate for the address shift that was cascaded by a wikileak release of the the library of congress via a HTML5 enabled RSS feed that was "supposed to" only be accessible by modifying the tweet servers address forwarding software BUT being mis-interpreted as a "priority forward to ALL" which triggered a "Hostile DDOS !attack!" at the NSA supercomputer complex in Alexandria Virginia prompting an immediate release of the area51 hostages in a "Save Earth" last ditch effort.
You should hear the draft score for the background music for the two surviving national network news channels ... it is ...
mind-numbingly hypnotic what a Japanese techno version of "Its a small world" YouTube - It's A Small World
gotta dance
Unless they have a time machine, WHAT QA team?
B
Beer_Cayse
Guest
This is my point ... we have been led to believe *something* would be stated/happen and we have yet to see a damn thing - a year or more later based on this date.
I waited 11 months from the state of the game 2010 to see what would happen and finally closed the accounts. I wait now to see what the future holds - and my patience wears thin.
I waited 11 months from the state of the game 2010 to see what would happen and finally closed the accounts. I wait now to see what the future holds - and my patience wears thin.
Some things never change... The pom-pom wavers continue to wave the pom-poms no matter how lousy the situation gets (which sort of leads you to believe they really were pom-pom wavers in another life, forced to cheer for their lousy, no-win football team regardless of the fact that their team achieved the impossible and had a negative ratio of wins to losses). The people who point out that the status-quo is unacceptable are reminded that "UO is just a game" without actually using the words "UO is just a game," as if UO being just a game is, in and of itself, some kind of acceptable reason for shoddy communication. And the developers continue to miss deadlines at a rate that the word "deadline" ceases to have a meaning.
I mean, come on... how many times can an update be pushed off before it's no longer acceptable? "Here's what we're going to talk about it when we get around to it." "We had a lot of distractions, but here's what we're going to talk about." "I know you've been waiting for months, but we promise, we'll talk about it soon." "We'd talk about it but [marketing|PR|excuse of the week] is adding their touch to it." Cal, regardless of the pom-pom wavers, if most companies were run like your particular division of Mythic Entertainment, corporate America would be in far worse shape than it is now.
I say this as a programmer who knows deadlines in programming have to be more fluid than solid -- regardless of what the rest of the world is -- and I say this as a programmer who worked on several projects as the sole programmer on the "team." I was still required to communicate regularly and effectively with the people for whom each project was dedicated to, and while maybe there was no requirement of me to take the suggestions of those I was programming for, you better believe it made my job easier in the long run.
And sure, we all know Mythic's UO team is more skeletal than Deceit 2, but that's not an excuse either. If the UO team was putting out a quality product, the team wouldn't be in the state that it is. Their continued failures, particularly since the move from EARS to Fairfax, have sealed the fate of UO. We've heard how many times about the great attention that the Enhanced Client is going to receive? And yet, with no substantial improvements since it was released (and yes, I know someone will point out the minimal updates and call them substantial, but there are still fundamental flaws in design, execution, and performance that have been there since "release" and continue to remain in what is quickly becoming a "beta" that could give Duke Nukem a run for his money), there are still people who believe it will get substantial attention.
There are those who seem to think Mythic can afford to "fix the issues" while not expanding the game any... That continues to be an incorrect stance, as the longer the game remains stagnant, the lower the subscription base will become. We've seen it historically in the number of people we see online during huge, expansionless periods. People like new things to do. When UO becomes a game you load up just like any other game you'd toss into your X-Box, it ceases being what it's intended to be.
Then again, Mythic totally blew the booster concept all to hell. With an expansion that didn't require a hard deadline, they gave it a hard deadline... went from pre-alpha to beta to release in 6 weeks(ish)... and it show(ed|s) in the way the expansion play(ed|s), and the fact that they've worked to monetize on something that was just barely out the door and which had already been monetized (ie: the special boat). Things like saltpeter show that they don't understand gameplay in general, and there's a continued disconnect particularly with the UO:HS expansion...
So the news for this year? Some predictions:
- No Classic Shard (or worse, "We're moving ahead on a Classic Shard, spreading ourselves even thinner than we already are..." I doubt this will be in the news, but then, this is Mythic's UO team, and I've been stunned by past decisions, so who knows?).
- No expansion.
- We're working on the EC (which will amount to next to nothing, and will do nothing to bring the 2D players who WOULD switch given 2D options that, you know, actually WORKED *coughbackpackcough*).
- More event stuff (which, much like the past THREE years, will trickle out in small amounts, but be enough to keep people logging in).
That'll be about it.
Oh... and discounts at the UO store... which is sort of scary.
What we won't hear about is anything that could position UO as a contemporary player in the MMO market, which is sad, given that a facelift and some creativity could do just that. Then again, every time they try to bring UO up to contemporary levels, they either get distracted, fly off on a tangent, or fail horribly.
The state of UO... is not pretty. And it's certainly not something to be pleased about.
I mean, come on... how many times can an update be pushed off before it's no longer acceptable? "Here's what we're going to talk about it when we get around to it." "We had a lot of distractions, but here's what we're going to talk about." "I know you've been waiting for months, but we promise, we'll talk about it soon." "We'd talk about it but [marketing|PR|excuse of the week] is adding their touch to it." Cal, regardless of the pom-pom wavers, if most companies were run like your particular division of Mythic Entertainment, corporate America would be in far worse shape than it is now.
I say this as a programmer who knows deadlines in programming have to be more fluid than solid -- regardless of what the rest of the world is -- and I say this as a programmer who worked on several projects as the sole programmer on the "team." I was still required to communicate regularly and effectively with the people for whom each project was dedicated to, and while maybe there was no requirement of me to take the suggestions of those I was programming for, you better believe it made my job easier in the long run.
And sure, we all know Mythic's UO team is more skeletal than Deceit 2, but that's not an excuse either. If the UO team was putting out a quality product, the team wouldn't be in the state that it is. Their continued failures, particularly since the move from EARS to Fairfax, have sealed the fate of UO. We've heard how many times about the great attention that the Enhanced Client is going to receive? And yet, with no substantial improvements since it was released (and yes, I know someone will point out the minimal updates and call them substantial, but there are still fundamental flaws in design, execution, and performance that have been there since "release" and continue to remain in what is quickly becoming a "beta" that could give Duke Nukem a run for his money), there are still people who believe it will get substantial attention.
There are those who seem to think Mythic can afford to "fix the issues" while not expanding the game any... That continues to be an incorrect stance, as the longer the game remains stagnant, the lower the subscription base will become. We've seen it historically in the number of people we see online during huge, expansionless periods. People like new things to do. When UO becomes a game you load up just like any other game you'd toss into your X-Box, it ceases being what it's intended to be.
Then again, Mythic totally blew the booster concept all to hell. With an expansion that didn't require a hard deadline, they gave it a hard deadline... went from pre-alpha to beta to release in 6 weeks(ish)... and it show(ed|s) in the way the expansion play(ed|s), and the fact that they've worked to monetize on something that was just barely out the door and which had already been monetized (ie: the special boat). Things like saltpeter show that they don't understand gameplay in general, and there's a continued disconnect particularly with the UO:HS expansion...
So the news for this year? Some predictions:
- No Classic Shard (or worse, "We're moving ahead on a Classic Shard, spreading ourselves even thinner than we already are..." I doubt this will be in the news, but then, this is Mythic's UO team, and I've been stunned by past decisions, so who knows?).
- No expansion.
- We're working on the EC (which will amount to next to nothing, and will do nothing to bring the 2D players who WOULD switch given 2D options that, you know, actually WORKED *coughbackpackcough*).
- More event stuff (which, much like the past THREE years, will trickle out in small amounts, but be enough to keep people logging in).
That'll be about it.
Oh... and discounts at the UO store... which is sort of scary.
What we won't hear about is anything that could position UO as a contemporary player in the MMO market, which is sad, given that a facelift and some creativity could do just that. Then again, every time they try to bring UO up to contemporary levels, they either get distracted, fly off on a tangent, or fail horribly.
The state of UO... is not pretty. And it's certainly not something to be pleased about.
E
Evlar
Guest
[YOUTUBE]BmjHT5GpAYQ[/YOUTUBE]
As much as I'd like an EA Classic shard to go ahead and the change that it would bring, it is not happening. MLF's thread was locked.
It is now more than 12 months since this carrot was dangled, and 3 commitments to give a simple yes or no, broken. The answer does not and has never needed to be in a video. It is now time to do the honorable thing.
"No one can acquire honor by doing what is wrong." - Thomas Jefferson
It is now more than 12 months since this carrot was dangled, and 3 commitments to give a simple yes or no, broken. The answer does not and has never needed to be in a video. It is now time to do the honorable thing.
"No one can acquire honor by doing what is wrong." - Thomas Jefferson
I feel as if they waited so long on a classic reply just to squeeze out another years worth of subs from people who stuck around hoping for one.
on the other hand, why state it in in a video? It seems as if they are about to let us know something huge... and a "no" would not be that huge eh? hrrrm *crosses fingers*
on the other hand, why state it in in a video? It seems as if they are about to let us know something huge... and a "no" would not be that huge eh? hrrrm *crosses fingers*
W
Woodsman
Guest
I'm still leaning towards the video having game footage, especially since Cal all but said it was going to have game footage, with his comment about PR adding "extra" footage.
I can't really see it being existing footage, since even Cal knows that wouldn't go over well. That is, footage of what we already see in-game. It almost has to be an upgraded EC, if not graphics. There have been little graphics tweaks - I've noticed the thigh boots thing and I think others have.
I expect an EC update as well, so a little spoiler about that would be nice to see (even though I still use classic client). But what are they planning on doing? Showing us the spoiler then turning around, facing the camera and saying "oh, btw... no classic shard".
It would fit really nice to have them show us a new client update WHILE showing their character running around with a Vanq sword, so it takes a minute for people to realize what's all going on.
However, I do not think that would happen haha.
W
Woodsman
Guest
That would be awesome.
The meltdown some would have would be hilarious, and I would do a 6-month payment for my account if they ditched the AOS properties. Never going to happen, but is hilarious to contemplate.
B
Beer_Cayse
Guest
My sentiments exactly ... 6-month sub for something like that.
When the High Seas booster was first announced on August 28, 2010, they had extensive video footage of what was in the booster. August 28 + 6 months = February 28.
W
Woodsman
Guest
I think I've explained this twice now.
This video was supposed to be out at the beginning of January, well before they were into the next booster - it was announced a day or two after Pub 69, and while they were still working on SA/HS/Pub 69 issues and right before they were about to take a break and work from home or vacation with their families for the holidays.
You can do the math on early January 2011 -> August 28, 2010.
W
Woodsman
Guest
It is very possible, but it wouldn't be the focus of the video, otherwise players would be really pissed.
Sure, people are interested in the next booster, but this video was supposed to be about the game in general, the developers and the long-term plans and where it's going. If it was turned into a video trying to sell people another booster pack, it would go over poorly, to say the least.
I still think the big thing is that PR wanted to add "extra" game footage. It's unfortunate that it's such a busy time for them right now.
M
Morgana LeFay (PoV)
Guest
I have to agree...I don't understand the need for all the theatrics. Just give us a Yes or No, a brief explanation of why or why not, and then move on. It could be posted in 200 words or less in 10 minutes.
Why all the hate !?! Man you guys attack each other in every post I read...
but then again I notice there are others that do this as well.
G
Ganondorf00
Guest
Either the guy saying they are stalling is right or they really put superlow priority on anything UO related and nobody is working on UO anymore. So the video and all patches are made in dev spare time between other projects.
August 28 + 6 months. It is beginning to feel like it is almost Booster announcement time. Ho Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum.
But that would mean they auctually hit a dead line, and well you know well ummm never mind :/
on a side note... the first prequal to Sparticus isn't as good as the first season.
Well Sparticus got lymphonma so they had to make something to fill the gap. He was suppose to be back for the 2nd season, but his doctors said he had to go back to agressive radation, so they had to find a new actor to play Sparticus.
unfortunetly NCSoft fails in simple things regarding keeping ppl interested in MMOs, such as not banning thousands of bots blantantly scripting all over the game.
like was the case with lineage2 and latest aion.
Hey sounds like another game I know
A
AdamD
Guest
It's entirely possible of course, that they've used this 12+ months delay, to create and test the classic shard and are going to launch it when the videos is posted.
I find it hard to believe or understand why it's taken them 12+ months for a simple yes/no, given that they already evaluated launching one in the past and said no.
I remember Jeremy saying to me it'd be at least a years work, with the same size team they had working on UOKR, to do.
So is it possible that it's been done already? Who knows.
I find it hard to believe or understand why it's taken them 12+ months for a simple yes/no, given that they already evaluated launching one in the past and said no.
I remember Jeremy saying to me it'd be at least a years work, with the same size team they had working on UOKR, to do.
So is it possible that it's been done already? Who knows.
A
AesSedai
Guest
- You know, now you have perked my curiosity:
- In combination with the 'PR stink', the 'Freemium'-thoughts, the LCD that I think about.. for you fellow 'maths peoples' that like to deduce... aye, ya' make a wonder bit.
Bravo Morgana.
F
Fayled Dhreams
Guest
*snicker* I believe you mean THIS proFessional
[youtube]gyR1fGMCLXo[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyR1fGMCLXo
It being EA BiowareMythic and all ..
ya know?
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! WHY did I ready your post?! It makes sense =( now my hopes are up yet again.It's entirely possible of course, that they've used this 12+ months delay, to create and test the classic shard and are going to launch it when the videos is posted.
I find it hard to believe or understand why it's taken them 12+ months for a simple yes/no, given that they already evaluated launching one in the past and said no.
I remember Jeremy saying to me it'd be at least a years work, with the same size team they had working on UOKR, to do.
So is it possible that it's been done already? Who knows.
It does? I would think it might make more sense to announce a classic shard would be released in advance of the actual event. My theory is a number of former players excited about the theoretical classic shard would reactivate their accounts in advance. I mean, this worked with just the aforementioned carrot-on-a-stick.
I have considered this possibility and it would certainly explain the delays, but I refuse to allow myself to be disappointed by it. I agree with Gorbs that the better business decision would seem to be to announce the new server in advance in hopes of players signing up while waiting for the shard to be completed. They also could have stolen some thunder from the "other" recent classic server launch, which by all accounts has been extremely successful.
I don't see why people would activate their accounts in advance. they would have nothing to do until the shard goes live.
The reason I think they would just spring it on us is because 9 out of 10 old time players have zero faith in EA. Remember, the last thing most of them remember is EA destroying their game to the point they walked away. (remember the tension in the few months when Garriott was forced off?)
This Classic shard idea has been pushed for almost 8 years now, people gave up hope. So if EA said they would release a classic shard I don't think many would believe them (myself included). They tend to change their mind and cancel things in progress (UO2, wing commander, harry potter online ect ect ect).
I think the best way for them to gain hype is by going: "surprise! The shard is online and active!" so then all of us still around call our 10+ friends we know who would come back, and in their moment of joy they buy an account. Because if you told them "hey man, in a year classic will be back" I'm sure they would get excited, but after a while they would lose hope as they wait... And while EA pushes the date farther and farther back.
I LOVE this:
taken from http://news.mmosite.com/content/2010-01-24/conquer_online_classic_server_review,1.shtml
"Many comments suggested that CO's success is due to its PvP system as well as its vivid Chinese cultural background. Compared to most MMOs published in the same era, players found CO's PvP system was very unique, with which one should focus on skill and control while not solely level and gear. Until Battle Power (formerly called Potency) was added to Conquer in 2007, players started to find the original PvP gameplay was changing, and heading into the opposite direction they wanted. "
remind you of anything?
J
[JD]
Guest
a much needed improvementBless you and yours.
Yeah we are gonna tackle EC bigtime this year. Derek will address that in the video.
- C
these two lines are confusing to me (in a speculation point of view)Absolutely our focus this cycle is to improve the existing game (which also means progressing existing story lines). We like to share information we have a level of certainty on to prevent misinformation and confusion as features and changes come and go.
You'll see that the team is quite passionate about the upcoming months and focused on improving the game for everyone in the upcoming video.
Thanks all
"our focus is to improve the existing game"
okay, so no Classic shard is what that means.
"focused on improving the game for everyone"
okay, so we get a classic shard.
*head explodes*
Maybe you should ask the devs if they need to borrow it to play the tape for us.
- Status