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What everyone seems to forget is that when SA is released there will be (should be anyway) a substantial influx of
NEW players. Present a new player who has never played UO before with the choice of 2D and KR and I would say that at least 90% of them will choose KR.
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Huh? Why would someone look at KR/SA and think "Wow, that has higher system requirements and worse graphics than Wow/GW/EQ2 etc etc" That's the game for me!"
If you limit their choices to KR or 2D you may or may not get the response your expecting. However in the real world they have the choice between every other game out there. Even if you ignore the hefty system requirements KR doesn't even come close to stacking up against the other games that have been on the market for the past 5 years eye candy wise.
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This is how KR will become the major client, not from the Vets, because they (I) love the 2D client and are so used to it. If KR is to be more successful then it MUST get the new players in, its really what it was designed for anyway.
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Yes it must, but read above. Higher System Requirements + Lower Quality Graphics != More New Players. It just doesn't add up as a feasable solution. That's even if we assume the KR Client worked and was Bug Free.
Hell, with the KR Client being Free, we'd have expected to at least see SOME influx of new players by now, which we really haven't. Commercial expansion or not.
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We already know from various sources that KR is quite popular, despite the impression that U.Hall gives. All you need do is look how many people have download/are downloading the client to see evidence of this (unfortunately listing legal sites to backup this claim is somehow taboo on stratics, but google is your friend).
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Site your sources, everything Mythic has told us is that it hasn't nearly come close to meeting their expectations as far as uptake. I can't think of any better source for information than the company that's running the game.
Downloads mean 0. You have to THEN remove how many people never completed the download. Take out the Multiple-Downloads. Then remove the large chunk of people who downloaded it, tried it and it wouldn't work on their PC. Then those who downloaded it, tried it, and decided they didn't like it. Not to mention a plethora of smaller reasons one might have downloaded it. It's probably the least reliable method of judging it's popularity.
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The problem is that UO's current subscriber base is mostly made up of vets, and not to many new players... this is not KR's fault, blame EA but not KR it hasn't had its chance to shine yet.
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KR has had 6 months to shine at least, and that in and of itself is the time it's been OUT of Beta. So it's had it's chance to shine, it just fell seriously flat.
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A fresh new expansion is needed (SA), with it selling KR on its DVD in a nice lookin box set with lots and lots of advertising (yeh I know I am dreaming... specially for Australia lol). It has been to long since we have had a major influx of new players (the last time woulda been ML probably).
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Yea, good luck with that, I don't think it'll help much. Almost certainly not to attract long-time players. A Box on a shelf, especially if you take previous launches/boxes as any indication doesn't really bring more people into this game, because as it is it can't compete equally with everything else that's out there.
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They also need to fix a few of KR's bugs, although I am yet to find 1 bug (in its latest patch) in it that is game breaking and it has crashed on me maybe twice total since beta. Most of KR's bugs are graphical (ie giant bug facing wrong way while your riding etc). When you stack the two clients up together, bugs are not an issue as 2D is absolutely PACKED with bugs (for instance, hold ctrl+shift while a player dies, bet it will client crash you).
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Take a look at the KR Forums 'eh? I think there are more bugs and issues in the KR Client than in the 2D client, especially major game-stopping ones. However I suppose those results are a bit skiewed. It's easier to find bugs when the majority is using a client (2D) since you have a larger 'test base'.
I mean, to the best of my knowledge not everything works, or works well in KR (hey I can be wrong). Still I think most people who run vendors still log into 2D to stock.
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IF EA/Mythic can HTFU and get SA ready/released (PROPERLY) then and only then will we see KR shine, until then it will remain the flashy new client that 5% of the (vet) population use because they all love 2D, fair enough too, I love 2D also (and play it 99% of the time)!
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There are other reasons. I personally don't love 2D, It's just, in my humble opinion, a much better, well thought out client with considerably less game stopping issues, especially when you put it up against KR. At least if nothing else the perspective for the world/items is consistant.
The fact of the matter is, KR has had time to shine, it's been released for quite some time now. You state ML as a comparison of the last 'influx' of new players, that wasn't a box that was download only, the only difference between it and KR is that KR was free... and yet still nobody wants it. Heck, it hasn't even been able to keep older players who have come back simply to give KR a shot.
It's had pleanty of time, more than most. However there HAS to come a time when you look at it and say "Okay, that's enough" instead of "Oh yea, when it's done it'll be great!" I mean it's a freakin release client already.
I digress though, I disagree that KR/SA will add new players, or even bring back many old players. It's just not what an argueable majority want out of their UO experience. Just like with UO3D and Ilshnar.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
-George Santayana
~Rai
