Grimm,
Is there a way, in your opinion, to revamp the graphics to compete with WoW, etc, without sacrificing our possessions, houses and current content?
If so, UO could give WoW a run for its money.
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In my opinion, when developers end their ideas with ".. to compete with WoW." -they've already lost, so trying to change UO with the goal being to compete with with WoW is not a good idea. Any changes whose goal is to improve UO for UO's sake is, I think, on the right track.
I think 3D is the next inevitable transition for UO. Anything else doesn't make sense. The real question is, how much effort should be made to make the new client feel like the UO that the seasoned players know, and how much should be made into something that feels more modern. I think taking UO into a realistic art direction (Skyrim, Dragon Age, etc.) would be a huge mistake, and in retrospect, was something we should have been better at avoiding with UOKR.
If you want my opinion for longevity's sake, re-designing things so that they are more appealing to kids would be a huge win to getting UO to 20+ years. Not that I'm saying we go all "My Little Pony", but something between what we have now and "Dragons Lair" area. No, it wouldn't look quite like the UO we know now, but right now UO doesn't stand out as being unique in art style (Legacy or EC). And that's something that you have to have to get noticed - aside from obviously having terrific gameplay.
-Grimm
