UO's longevity

[Prince Caspian]

Why do you think Ultima Online has lasted so long while so many of its contemporaries have gone to that great logout screen in the sky?

 

[JoO]

large corporate backing, relatively small cost to run, steady subscription numbers fueling predictable profit margins.

 

[Clog|Mordain]

large corporate backing, relatively small cost to run, steady subscription numbers fueling predictable profit margins.

This and the versatility of the game. You arent forced into PVP, you arent forced into PVM. You could sit on a crafter all day long if that is what you are into. No other game that i know of offers that much versitility.

 

[NuSair]

For the same reason I came back to it.

I left UO many years ago to play Everquest. All of my friends had quit for one reason or another, the guild I was in (G*B on Atlantic) had all but disappeared.

Played Everquest for ~5 years. Was one of the top Enchanters on the Rathe, but in the end, it was the same thing everyday. Grind for exp, sell drops on vendor, raid.

Played WoW for 6 months... felt like EQ, just with prettier colors.

StarWars Galaxies.... next

Even tried the Sims for a month.

In the end I came back to UO. The depth of the game and the versitility in what you can do.... I rarely find myself bored.

Peerless, champ spawns, crafting, resource gathering, plants.... redecorating houses....

And I don't even PvP.

 

[ACB1961]

A lot of us got imprinted by the game on our pc's back so long ago when it first came out. We just spent so long playing it that we became accustomed to it on like a primal level. Plus, we don't play uo exactly. It's more like we live here. I still have items I got from the first day I played so many years ago.

I've been here so long, I bought my keep for 500k. I wouldn't pay the guys 550k, and back then no one had any money. I can't explain it, but it seems real in some sort of way to my family.

Plus, they keep getting our attention. We hadn't played at all since the town invasions were over, but now the whole family is somewhere in Tokuno getting those arties. Another big reason that we play is it changes, and the items you get during the short term things matter for your overall game play later.

 

[Barl DeAbreago]

I very much agree with NuSair. This game is unique in a way that not even wow can touch.

In over ten years, NO mmo has managed to do houses or boats or mounts the same way UO has. Not to mention the medium that allows rp, pvp, pvm, economy, etc.

Now on top of that Add the skill system, which allows for the combination of workable abilities that both compliment and contrast each other with the freedom of changing a character's path at any time. Something the flawed leveling system that 99 percent of MMO's still cling to cannot allow. Level 70 and you want to try something else? Too bad, make a new character.

Last but certainly not least: History.

Ultima is one of the FEW..that did not just pop out of thin air. In 1980 Richard Garriot created and released akalabeth, and from that moment forward the story that has propelled the universe in which we live and breathe has grown wide and deep. Almost 30 years of game history. THIRTY YEARS.

There has never and will never be a one hour back story Write up on an mmo website that will ever have anything on that of the Avatar, Lord British, Lord Blackthorn, etc.


To put it simply.

Most mmos give you a game to play, they tell you what to do and you do it.

Uo?

They give us a world. Our part in it is up to us.

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

I very much agree with NuSair. This game is unique in a way that not even wow can touch.

In over ten years, NO mmo has managed to do houses or boats or mounts the same way UO has. Not to mention the medium that allows rp, pvp, pvm, economy, etc.

Now on top of that Add the skill system, which allows for the combination of workable abilities that both compliment and contrast each other with the freedom of changing a character's path at any time. Something the flawed leveling system that 99 percent of MMO's still cling to cannot allow. Level 70 and you want to try something else? Too bad, make a new character.

Last but certainly not least: History.

Ultima is one of the FEW..that did not just pop out of thin air. In 1980 Richard Garriot created and released akalabeth, and from that moment forward the story that his propelled the universe in which we live and breath has grown wide and deep. Almost 30 years of game history. THIRTY YEARS.

There has never and will never be a one hour back story Write up on an mmo website that will ever have anything on that of the Avatar, Lord British, Lord Blackthorn, etc.


To put it simply.

Most mmos give you a game to play, they tell you what to do and you do it.

Uo?

They give us a world. Our part in it is up to us.

yep

 

[Magdalene]

It being home, in a weird way.

Us - those who cannot leave and those who keep coming back.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

see subthread from Barl DeAbreago and Cear Dallben Dragon. That states it all and I am a proud owner of Akalabeth and all the base UO PC games ... also played them on 8-bit systems before there even was an IBM PC.

Flexibility ... virtually no template that I am forced into.

Flexibility ... any playstyle is supported on the same server (PvE, PvP ... )

Flexibility ... housing is not cookie-cutter unless you want it to be, but even then most of the Classic floorplans are totally customizable in decorative sense.

Flexibility ... dungeon crawling I have my pick of many dungeons, with differing population of foe to fight.

 

[Black Sun]

Why do you think Ultima Online has lasted so long while so many of its contemporaries have gone to that great logout screen in the sky?

Because even after all these years, there's a large amount of UO I've yet to experience. That depth of play will keep players busy for a long, long time.

During my 4 years off from UO I tried other MMO's, none of which kept me beyond the initial free trial period except Star Wars Galaxies. I played that for about a year, but quickly grew bored because in my first 3 months of playing I had maxed out my character and spent my days at the spaceport selling my medical buffs, and counting my credits. When the space expansion came out, I spent a few months working on my piloting skills, but once I had maxed that out I realized I had lost interest.

No other games are as indepth and engaging as UO, and I have never felt the same sense of community I do with UO.

 

[Hex_Europa]

If you speak to other MMORPG player's alot of them come up with the common theme that UO has one of the best housing schemes there is. Being able to custimize your house as much as you can do is obviously a big tick in the box.

Oh and secondly, because alot of people refuse to ever leave and will only do so when EAMythic finally bring those server's down.