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Why can't KR come even close to Diablo III T.T

NBG

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Makes me want to cry when I see what other company can do with an iso/3d game compared to KR.

Enough said go look and compare then lets scratch some heads and wonder...
 
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K'torr

Guest
It's not that they couldn't do it. The thing is they wanted to update the client, but retain the UO feel.
Some like it, some don't. It's all a matter of taste.
 

NBG

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I'm all for retaining the UO Feel but when you compare the type of details and the artistic abilities of the two.....
 

Dermott of LS

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
...

1. They kept the 2d client and thus were limited to the terrain effects compared to what D3 is using

2. Artstyle differences. D3 has more of a "painting" look in some areas (especially with the rocks in the outdoors areas whereas KR has a bit more "realistic" look to it. Aside from the resolution enhancement, D3 looks a bit more "cartoonish" IMO than D2.

It's more #2 than #1 though, though #1 IS a factor. As long as they stick to the SA areas will be KR-only viewpoint, we still could see something that looks like D3 in UO graphically.
 
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K'torr

Guest
I'm all for retaining the UO Feel but when you compare the type of details and the artistic abilities of the two.....
It would seem to me, just from looking at the Art Work of UO over the past several years, perhaps Diablo could afford more "Talent" working for them.
 

Theo_GL

Grand Poobah
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Makes me want to cry when I see what other company can do with an iso/3d game compared to KR.

Enough said go look and compare then lets scratch some heads and wonder...
Yes, the Diablo stuff is way better - but also realize UO is dealing with a dynamic environment and Diablo is static.

The house customization and display of these customizations is a limiting factor. I'll bet EA could make UO look better if we would all go back to custom housing with no add ons.

Its a bit of a trade off.
 
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GAMBIT35

Guest
Wow, you guys really like to crap on other games huh. UO is fine for what it is but please, don't start talking about how realistic it looks and how late 90's graphics are so much better.
 

Lug

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Makes me want to cry when I see what other company can do with an iso/3d game compared to KR.

Enough said go look and compare then lets scratch some heads and wonder...
Any word if diablo 3 will be a MMO, or is it just the multiplayer battlenet thingy?
 
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Dreadlord Galaad

Guest
Thats pretty easy, uo is "cheap" :
First, Ea didnt buy a good 3d engine, the one used looks like an open source one.
Second, Ea couldnt find some good 3d artist, so we have a 6 years old child touch in uo-KR.
Third, they didnt bother to adapt uo to some true 3D so the results is awful.
 

Zym Dragon

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Thats pretty easy, uo is "cheap" :
First, Ea didnt buy a good 3d engine, the one used looks like an open source one.
Second, Ea couldnt find some good 3d artist, so we have a 6 years old child touch in uo-KR.
Third, they didnt bother to adapt uo to some true 3D so the results is awful.
I think it's more that they ran out of time due to the buyout of Mythic and the subsequent move to VA. We'll likely never really know though. The problem with KR is that it isn't finished. The art that is finished is great (thank you CatHat!), but it's obvious much of the art is unfinished.

I don't have a problem with the game having the same view the old client uses. It's what makes UO UO.

As for the engine, are you saying that Oblivion is run on a poor, open source engine? Both Oblivion and KR use the Gamebryo engine. If this new team can get rolling with KR performance fixes and finishing up the art, KR will become the client of choice for most.
 
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galefan2004

Guest
Makes me want to cry when I see what other company can do with an iso/3d game compared to KR.

Enough said go look and compare then lets scratch some heads and wonder...
KR is not a 3d client. Its a 2 1/2 d client (like Third Dawn), but it has better graphics. Stop comparing KR to every other game out there because it falls short. They need to fix KR bugs and then just leave it as it is. If you want to go play Diablo III (there is a Diablo III...i thought they ended at 2) then do so.
 
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galefan2004

Guest
It's more #2 than #1 though, though #1 IS a factor. As long as they stick to the SA areas will be KR-only viewpoint, we still could see something that looks like D3 in UO graphically.
In reality they aren't stupid enough to do this, so try again. They will never make SA be KR only because they don't want to alienate 75%+ of their player base. I for one will walk away from this game if they do something this stupid.

Even back when Ilshenar was TD only no one actually went there because no one wanted to play the TD client and it had the best UI of any client ever in this game. Ilshenar was a ghost town until it was turned on in LBR. I don't think they can afford to make SA as a ghost town without alienating players that want an expansion.
 
S

Sneaky

Guest
Thats pretty easy, uo is "cheap" :
First, Ea didnt buy a good 3d engine, the one used looks like an open source one.
KR is built in the Gamebryo engine, which has been used by many top-line games, including Age of Camelot...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebryo

Second, Ea couldnt find some good 3d artist, so we have a 6 years old child touch in uo-KR.
Yep, I'm sure EA is real keen on the idea of child labor.

Third, they didnt bother to adapt uo to some true 3D so the results is awful.
Didn't bother? More like can't, why? Because of 2D, the KR client is fully capable of being completely 3D.
 
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Sneaky

Guest
Makes me want to cry when I see what other company can do with an iso/3d game compared to KR.

Enough said go look and compare then lets scratch some heads and wonder...
They look the same, if anything KR is better.
 
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Sneaky

Guest
In reality they aren't stupid enough to do this, so try again. They will never make SA be KR only because they don't want to alienate 75%+ of their player base. I for one will walk away from this game if they do something this stupid.
WOW, never say never! Remember this is EA, the guys who brought us Trammel, AoS and canceled what would of been the WoW before WoW (UO2). Making SA KR only would be nothing (in fact it may even be a good thing) compared to these blunders!

Even back when Ilshenar was TD only no one actually went there because no one wanted to play the TD client and it had the best UI of any client ever in this game. Ilshenar was a ghost town until it was turned on in LBR. I don't think they can afford to make SA as a ghost town without alienating players that want an expansion.
Thats because the Third Dawn client was HORRIBLE, a disgrace to this wonderful game. KR is what TD should have been, but never was. Even when KR first came out and was in beta it was 100000000x better than TD.
 
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love2winalot

Guest
This is on UO Guide.

Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss
(Redirected from Stygian Abyss)
Contents [hide]
1 Details
2 Announcement Message
3 Concept Art

The Stygian Abyss will be UO's ninth expansion. Originally, it was to have been launched a few months after Kingdom Reborn, which meant sometime in late summer of 2007. However, as with Ultima X: Oddessy, the game developers were asked to move to a new location, which occurred after Electronic Arts purchased Mythic Entertainment on June 20, 2006.[1] The release of the expansion was subsequently delayed. According to a Stratics Forum post made by EA Mythic employee, Walt Yarbrough, "As of [July 5, 2007], [EA Mythic] will remove all official references to Stygian Abyss’s launch date from our sites. We’ll announce a new launch date in the future." [2]

Eventually, the expansion will feature a new playable race of Gargoyles and a new dungeon named Stygian Abyss. The dungeon will be the largest in UO to date, with new monsters, tricks, and treasures. The expansion will also come with new skills, pets, craftables, items, and housing designs.

Details
The Kingdom Reborn client will be required to access the new areas.
The new dungeon Stygian Abyss will be the largest and most complex UO has ever seen.
The only way to have a Gargoyle character is to make a new one, at this time a quest to change race to gargoyle is not planned.
Announcement Message
The expansion was announced a week early with an accidental posting, which is no longer available, on the Japanese Ultima Online website. The following message has been translated by athos_uo on the Stratics forums and may not be exact:

"Ultima Online Stygian Abyss" is the first expansion that will be released a few months later after the launch of "Ultima Online Kingdom Reborn". You can buy it in a package on the shelf or downloading it.

New features and contents

Gargoyle race comes back to Sosaria, having escaped from the subordination that lasted hundreds years in the harsh land, unfortunately through which a part of the harsh land was brought to Sosaria. The Stygian Abyss opens its mouth and unfamiliar and bizarre creatures stalk on the ground. But you can find adventures only there, where there are risks. Abyss would offer the treasures beyond imagination to the braves who made their way into it.
The new playable race that players can select to play: The Gargoyle race

They appear already in a part of the story since Ultima III and are mystic and thoughtful race which is known for their ability to control, infuse or transform energy.
The largest dungeon in the history of UO: Stygian Abyss

It was through Abyss that Gargoyle race came back from the underworld. This dungeon is several times as large as any other current dungeons in UO and offers various dangers, new monsters, new tricks and new treasures.
Concept Art
The following was distributed to the press for the announcement message. It should be noted that works of concept art are not actual images from the game, but an artist's rendering of possible game elements. Click for full view
______________________________________________________

No one from EA has ever even hinted that it will not be KR only. All this about how it will be 2d & KR, and how it will be out at the end of this current event, and how it is being kept a secret because.............Umm.......Well it just is. Is a waste of time on all our parts. EA does not even know, so how can any of us know?

I would like to see it, but i would rather be told what the status is, rather than be told nothing at all. For every player that keeps playing, waiting for SA to come out, there are 9 who walk away having given up on it. Silence is golden, but not when it comes to marketing.........:)
 

JC the Builder

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
It's not that they couldn't do it. The thing is they wanted to update the client, but retain the UO feel.
Maintaining the UO's feel was not a hold back to upgrading the graphics. There have been even more dramatic transformations from gaming franchises. Just look at the many that went from 2D side-scrolling to full 3D environments over the past 2 decades. The developers had the shoe on the other foot this time with plenty of examples to look at how other games have updated themselves.

Dermott of LS said:
1. They kept the 2d client and thus were limited to the terrain effects compared to what D3 is using
Again with the "2D holds back KR" debate. Except you are trying to say the absolute best thing currently in KR, the environments, has been held back. I don't recall anyone saying that the terrain does not look good. It looks like the bulk of development time was in fact spent on the land. It is everything else that sucks, including the lack of UO feel and reworking/removing parts of Britannian to suit KR.
Originally, it was to have been launched a few months after Kingdom Reborn, which meant sometime in late summer of 2007. However, as with Ultima X: Oddessy, the game developers were asked to move to a new location, which occurred after Electronic Arts purchased Mythic Entertainment on June 20, 2006.[1]
I don't know why that was put in there. There was no UO team move in 2006. They moved to Redmond in 2005 and then Virginia in Winter 2008. I have updated the article.
 
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galefan2004

Guest
Thats because the Third Dawn client was HORRIBLE, a disgrace to this wonderful game. KR is what TD should have been, but never was. Even when KR first came out and was in beta it was 100000000x better than TD.
No. KR is a disgrace. TD had the BEST UI ever. Many more people care about UI than graphics IMO. One of the biggest pushes towards improvements in the creation of the KR client was a decent UI. The UI in KR sucks. The graphics in KR look about 100% worse than the legacy client's graphics. They are never going to "force people to play KR" as you guys seem to suggest they should. IMO, they are smart enough to realise that when you try to force people to play with a certain client it makes them reevaluate if they want to bother with their game or not.
 
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galefan2004

Guest
No one from EA has ever even hinted that it will not be KR only. All this about how it will be 2d & KR, and how it will be out at the end of this current event, and how it is being kept a secret because.............Umm.......Well it just is. Is a waste of time on all our parts. EA does not even know, so how can any of us know?
Exactly, and that information is null and void because it is completely out dated. I am simply saying that they are not stupid enough to release SA as a KR only thing. The KR client is a joke. The majority of the players know its a joke. EA knows its a joke. They have since taken the stance that the 2d client is better (as evidenced from the post and the patches and the publishes that are basically 2d with some art reworks for KR). That means that they very possibly changed their minds about it being a KR only thing. If they do make it a KR only thing I will gladly end my time with this game, because I will never use the KR client.

I would like to see it, but i would rather be told what the status is, rather than be told nothing at all. For every player that keeps playing, waiting for SA to come out, there are 9 who walk away having given up on it. Silence is golden, but not when it comes to marketing.........:)
I find it hard to get excited about anything that effects such a small portion of the player base. There are more people using 2d than KR period. I know a lot of people on my shard, and not a single one of them uses KR. I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of players still play 2d and KR was just a waste of resources at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the reasons that SA hasn't come out yet is because they had to reprogram the expansion to work on the 2d client as well.
 
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Sneaky

Guest
No. KR is a disgrace. TD had the BEST UI ever. Many more people care about UI than graphics IMO. One of the biggest pushes towards improvements in the creation of the KR client was a decent UI. The UI in KR sucks.
If you had actually played KR (which I'm willing to bet you haven't by the above quote) you would know that KR's macro system is FAR superior to TD's and 2D's, in fact they are not even in the same league... the UI in KR is probably the BEST thing about the client.

I suggest you go download KR and give it go rather than just listening to the whiners on U.Hall, you might actually like it, the picture of KR that is painted on here is no where near what it is actually like, which is a shame.

The graphics in KR look about 100% worse than the legacy client's graphics.
Thats funny, because if you had played KR you would know that you can use 2D's artwork in KR. 2D might look better to you, and thats understandable because of the love we all have for 2D, but the graphics in KR far surpass 2D, if you like them or not.

They are never going to "force people to play KR" as you guys seem to suggest they should. IMO, they are smart enough to realise that when you try to force people to play with a certain client it makes them reevaluate if they want to bother with their game or not.
I never suggested they should, I just suggested that it was unwise to predict what you think EA might do...

You know what else makes new players reevaluate if they want to play a game or not (unfortunately)? If the graphics look like they come from this millennium... 2D is fine for vets and returning players, otherwise it just doesn't cut it as far as selling power goes.
 

Uriah Heep

Grand Poobah
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
"As of [July 5, 2007], [EA Mythic] will remove all official references to Stygian Abyss’s launch date from our sites. We’ll announce a new launch date in the future." [2]
Let me refresh that for you. We’ll announce a new launch date in the future." [2]

I have heard no such announcement, a year after this was written. No announcement of a launch date, no true announcement of work commencing or continuing. Hell, they don't even want to talk about it!!!:lol:

Face the music peeps, its just like UO2 and UX:O, hot for a while and then silence, and finally cancellation. There's no one working on UO now even, except Draconi and a few others, and they have their hands full entertaining us, without coding up a new expansion.

One more time, for the hearing impaired: We’ll announce a new launch date in the future." [2]

Show me an official announcement telling a launch date, and then I will expect SA to be released (about 8 months after the date we are given), otherwise, face it, it's vaporware just like Darkfall.
 
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K'torr

Guest
It is possible that the reason there is no update on SA, and one of the reasons it is taking so long, this that they are working on recoding it to allow the 2D client to use it. They originally stated that you would need KR to enter SA, but with the apparent reluctance/inability for many to use KR, they have been forced to rethink this this.
 

Uriah Heep

Grand Poobah
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
It is possible that the reason there is no update on SA, and one of the reasons it is taking so long, this that they are working on recoding it to allow the 2D client to use it. They originally stated that you would need KR to enter SA, but with the apparent reluctance/inability for many to use KR, they have been forced to rethink this this.

Good thinking, and I don't intend to be argumentative. But the flaw in that logic, is that if that were truly the case, they should be out here saying so, in plain English for the whole world to see. Is there ANY reason, why this would have to be kept top secret classified for Walt's eyes only? I don't see one, while the masses out here are clamoring for information, hell, thats a nice tidbit/morsel to toss out, and a reasonable explanation. But I don't buy that, for just that reason. IF SA were being worked, or reworked, someone somewhere would say "toss em a bone, tell em officially" if for no other reason than to "stop the bleeding" so to speak.
To tell us it was being revamped for 2d would BE an update :lol:

:popcorn:
 
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K'torr

Guest
Good thinking, and I don't intend to be argumentative. But the flaw in that logic, is that if that were truly the case, they should be out here saying so, in plain English for the whole world to see. Is there ANY reason, why this would have to be kept top secret classified for Walt's eyes only? I don't see one, while the masses out here are clamoring for information, hell, thats a nice tidbit/morsel to toss out, and a reasonable explanation. But I don't buy that, for just that reason. IF SA were being worked, or reworked, someone somewhere would say "toss em a bone, tell em officially" if for no other reason than to "stop the bleeding" so to speak.
To tell us it was being revamped for 2d would BE an update :lol:

:popcorn:
Possibly, but for them to say it is being revamped for 2D now would be another hit against KR. Some, myself included, only DLed KR to be ready for SA. If KR is no longer needed, this is just another reason not to use a client that some seem to be having problems with.
A client they have spend a good deal of investment in.

Besides, we all know how EA LOVES to admit they screwed up.
All this is speculative of course, and EA/Mythic is doing themselves no service not posting updates.
What they don't seem to understand is "No news is NOT good news".
 

Dermott of LS

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
...

It is possible that the reason there is no update on SA, and one of the reasons it is taking so long, this that they are working on recoding it to allow the 2D client to use it. They originally stated that you would need KR to enter SA, but with the apparent reluctance/inability for many to use KR, they have been forced to rethink this this.

If this is true, it is the single BIGGEST mistake they will EVER make with UO in terms of moving the game forward technologically. The KR engine COULD put the screenshots and video of D3 to shame were it allowed to have unfettered access to the game. Instead we are still hampered with what the devs can do with the client BECAUSE it still has to allow access to the obsolete legacy client.

There are things that the Gamebryo client can do that Wombat simply cannot and the idea was to have the SA areas be accessible by the KR client ONLY in order to take advantage of this.

I personally believe that if they DO backpeddle and retrofit SA to allow the 2d client access to the new areas that you can kiss any REAL advancement with the game goodbye. Maybe a few remaining players will be fine with that, but these people had better not expect UO to re-reach the "glory days" it has had if it does.

Someone compared KR/SA to Third Dawn/3D. They're PARTIALLY right, however what these people FAIL to realize is that the 3d client never got the attention that KR got in the first 8 months after it was released. KR now quality-wise is WELL BEYOND the 3d client was even three or four YEARS after its release, both in terms of UI and in terms of lag/stability. To go even further, many aspects of KR have been fixed OUTSIDE of dev involvement due to the efforts of KR enthusiasts (such as myself). No that's not the ideal situation, but some of us also have some understanding of what is going on with KR and the devs that hasn't been made public.

SA is still the make or break expansion for UO right now, and a LOT of that rests on the expansion areas being able to FULLY utilize the technological advances that KR gives over Legacy.
 
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galefan2004

Guest
If you had actually played KR (which I'm willing to bet you haven't by the above quote) you would know that KR's macro system is FAR superior to TD's and 2D's, in fact they are not even in the same league... the UI in KR is probably the BEST thing about the client.

I suggest you go download KR and give it go rather than just listening to the whiners on U.Hall, you might actually like it, the picture of KR that is painted on here is no where near what it is actually like, which is a shame.

Thats funny, because if you had played KR you would know that you can use 2D's artwork in KR. 2D might look better to you, and thats understandable because of the love we all have for 2D, but the graphics in KR far surpass 2D, if you like them or not.
I played KR. I wasn't impressed. Not being able to use UO Assist with KR is a joke. UO Assist +2D gives me a much larger set of options then the KR macro system. I also hated the container gumps. If I wanted to use the 2d graphics I'd play 2d (oh wait I already do).

I never suggested they should, I just suggested that it was unwise to predict what you think EA might do...
I hope they aren't that stupid. If they aren't willing to support two clients then they shouldn't have two clients. Not providing an expansion for both clients mean they aren't supporting both clients.

You know what else makes new players reevaluate if they want to play a game or not (unfortunately)? If the graphics look like they come from this millennium... 2D is fine for vets and returning players, otherwise it just doesn't cut it as far as selling power goes.
Tell that to Game Crazy, tell that to emulator sites, tell that eBay. All of those have people coming to them to get games that were made for Nintendo and still playing them. Retro gaming is a huge movement because games were actually fun back then. They couldn't really concentrate on graphics, so they had to concentrate on fun instead.
 
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galefan2004

Guest
IF SA were being worked, or reworked, someone somewhere would say "toss em a bone, tell em officially" if for no other reason than to "stop the bleeding" so to speak.
To tell us it was being revamped for 2d would BE an update :lol:

:popcorn:
You don't understand how EA works at all do you? They don't come right out and say something till they are 100% certain what they are talking about is a finished (or nearly finished) product. They didn't even really go into a lot of details about WAR until it was in closed beta.
 

Dermott of LS

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
...

Tell that to Game Crazy, tell that to emulator sites, tell that eBay. All of those have people coming to them to get games that were made for Nintendo and still playing them.

How many people do you know are clamoring to shell out $50 retail for SMB or the original Metroid? How many people will be shelling out $50 retail AND pay $15/month to pick up SA with 2d graphics vs $50 Retail for Diablo 3?

Retro gaming is all well and good, but aside from absolute rarity (collectors), it would NEVER hold up at comparitive retail prices.
 
K

K'torr

Guest
...

Maybe a few remaining players will be fine with that, but these people had better not expect UO to re-reach the "glory days" it has had if it does.


It will NEVER "re-reach" the "glory days" it once had because there is apparently on one at EA/Mythic who has that level of vision.
This game, any game, is nothing but pixels on a screen without a Visionary seeing what it COULD be 1, 2, 3 years down the road.
Someone who can get past the Suits and pencil pushers who can't see past the next profit report. Someone who can dismiss the rants
and gripes of those who want quick fix easy answers, and want every thing handed to them just for logging in. Sadly, UO doesn't seem
to have someone like this.
 

Alvinho

Great Lakes Forever!
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
WOW, never say never! Remember this is EA, the guys who brought us Trammel, AoS and canceled what would of been the WoW before WoW (UO2). compared to these blunders!

Without EA Ultima ONLINE would not exist, EA bought origin and Ultima in 1992, Ultima ONLINE went live in 1997 so in essence, the EA you blame for bringing you Trammel, also brought you UO
 
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galefan2004

Guest
If this is true, it is the single BIGGEST mistake they will EVER make with UO in terms of moving the game forward technologically. The KR engine COULD put the screenshots and video of D3 to shame were it allowed to have unfettered access to the game. Instead we are still hampered with what the devs can do with the client BECAUSE it still has to allow access to the obsolete legacy client.
They need to support both clients. They can't get away with out doing so. Would you honestly have them "move the game forward technologically" at the expense of players that have played this game since 1997 that don't want to change? I don't think that is a good idea. If you want something that looks like D3 then go play D3. UO is UO...don't try to change it into something it is not.

There are things that the Gamebryo client can do that Wombat simply cannot and the idea was to have the SA areas be accessible by the KR client ONLY in order to take advantage of this.
That was a mistake. I mean, seriously, no one cares what the special graphics client can do if its not accessible by everyone in the game no matter what client they use. Having an MMORPG without having access to all areas by all is kind of silly.

I personally believe that if they DO backpeddle and retrofit SA to allow the 2d client access to the new areas that you can kiss any REAL advancement with the game goodbye. Maybe a few remaining players will be fine with that, but these people had better not expect UO to re-reach the "glory days" it has had if it does.
Do you honestly think anyone expects UO to reach 250,000 players again? I know I don't expect that. I expect this game to last maybe 2 more years (they said they have business plans for 2 more years) then to end. When it ends I'll probably be done with MMOs for a long time unless they release UO2 or come out with another game very similar to UO in play.

Someone compared KR/SA to Third Dawn/3D. They're PARTIALLY right, however what these people FAIL to realize is that the 3d client never got the attention that KR got in the first 8 months after it was released. KR now quality-wise is WELL BEYOND the 3d client was even three or four YEARS after its release, both in terms of UI and in terms of lag/stability. To go even further, many aspects of KR have been fixed OUTSIDE of dev involvement due to the efforts of KR enthusiasts (such as myself). No that's not the ideal situation, but some of us also have some understanding of what is going on with KR and the devs that hasn't been made public.
I have played KR. I was not at all impressed with the UI. Not being able to use UO Assist with KR was a mistake.

SA is still the make or break expansion for UO right now, and a LOT of that rests on the expansion areas being able to FULLY utilize the technological advances that KR gives over Legacy.
No it is not. No it doesn't. I don't know what part of...PEOPLE PLAY 2D MORE THAN KR you do not understand. Hmm...should we be trying to reach new players that we aren't reaching anyways, or should we cater to the player base we already have. Answer that question. Its stupid for them to try to remake the game into something it is not to attract newer players, and at the same time alienating older players. One is a proven revenue stream and the other (lets face it) for UO is kind of like going to Las Vegas to make money.
 

Dermott of LS

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
...

Would you honestly have them "move the game forward technologically" at the expense of players that have played this game since 1997 that don't want to change?

With all due respect for thos that fit the bolded part on this board, YES. I think they should. Otherwise the game will continue to dwindle down to nothing BUT those few diehards, shards will close/consolidate, and the game will ultimately go under.

The game needs NEW BLOOD. The Legacy client isn't going to bring that in plain and simple. The Anti-KR Luddites will be the death of this game.
 
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galefan2004

Guest
...

Tell that to Game Crazy, tell that to emulator sites, tell that eBay. All of those have people coming to them to get games that were made for Nintendo and still playing them.

How many people do you know are clamoring to shell out $50 retail for SMB or the original Metroid? How many people will be shelling out $50 retail AND pay $15/month to pick up SA with 2d graphics vs $50 Retail for Diablo 3?

Retro gaming is all well and good, but aside from absolute rarity (collectors), it would NEVER hold up at comparitive retail prices.
People still play those games or they wouldn't still be sold. People buy them to play them. UO is 10 years old...do you honestly think it should be bringing in what a brand new game brings in. I disagree with you. I won't be paying D3. I don't play any games other than MMORPGs and retro games because so many of the newer ones are pretty pixels with trash concepts. FF7 for PSX was SquareEnix's most successful FF ever. People still play it. Its hard to find a copy of it. The newer stuff they made after it is all much more graphically intensive, but none have come close to its game play. Game play in the end is what makes sales and a lasting presence in the industry. Graphics just distract you from horrible game play for awhile.
 

Uriah Heep

Grand Poobah
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many aspects of KR have been fixed OUTSIDE of dev involvement due to the efforts of KR enthusiasts (such as myself). No that's not the ideal situation, but some of us also have some understanding of what is going on with KR and the devs that hasn't been made public.
And therein lies the problem. Not being in the inner circle and knowing the trade secrets, as a few of ya do, evidently, I cannot comment completely. BUT I will say, when the game/client improvements are created by the player base and not the company actually peddling the game...and the company owning the game doesnt speak of it,...well hell, seems anyone should be able to read the writing on the wall.

Don't get me wrong, me and my 4 will be here till they close it all down, I have some good friends I would seriously miss, and therefore wont leave. But when the "powers that be" have nothing of substance, *shakes head*

So many people have hung their hopes on this event being the one leading up to SA. I do not buy into that for a minute. An expansion is made to be sold. If SA were right around the corner (end of event) like some are hoping and saying, then there would be some talk about it officially. Some announcements. Maybe, altho knowing EA probably not, some advertisement. No talk (even to existing players waiting to buy) and no Ads, a few months before end of event, says to me, no SA at end of event. Were SA being worked on, someone somewhere should be crowing it from the rooftops.

The FoF currently has stuff like this:

Okay guys, you figure the formula for <insert question here> this way:

3.14 / sq root of 144 * 12.5 (Resist/12 * Eval +120)-(wife's age + 20)

It would look more like:

This week we have the artwork in place for first level of SA. New monster animations are coming along nicely, should have some video up for everyone in a couple of weeks.
Having to push the release date back another 2 weeks tho, due to hardware problems.


That's what I'm talkin about!

/rant
 
G

galefan2004

Guest
Without EA Ultima ONLINE would not exist, EA bought origin and Ultima in 1992, Ultima ONLINE went live in 1997 so in essence, the EA you blame for bringing you Trammel, also brought you UO
Say nothing to the fact that those horrible things are probably what kept this game going for 10 years. When EQ came out it sucked UO players left and right so they made Trammel to retain them. No game has come out that has been PvP based for 10 years after that and none really will until some of the new games on the horizon come out...if they ever do.

Oh, I forgot, Shadowbane was susposed to be the end all be all of the PvP based games. Shadowbane died a year after it was released...I wonder why.
 
J

Joyous2K

Guest
You don't understand how EA works at all do you? They don't come right out and say something till they are 100% certain what they are talking about is a finished (or nearly finished) product. They didn't even really go into a lot of details about WAR until it was in closed beta.
You don't understand EA at all, do you? For 8 months were was a massive propaganda campaign about KR and how it was the best thing the entire universe had ever seen and it was going to win the presidency and toast your bread and kill the bad guys just at login. That was not a finished product and that was not successful.

What EA does is not admit fault. They just stop mentioning things and remove all mention of its failures from their sites and it eventually goes away.
 
G

galefan2004

Guest
It would look more like:

This week we have the artwork in place for first level of SA. New monster animations are coming along nicely, should have some video up for everyone in a couple of weeks.
Having to push the release date back another 2 weeks tho, due to hardware problems.


That's what I'm talkin about!

/rant
The way I remember it...ML was announced in June or July and came out 2-3 months later (September). If I remember right, then EA really doesn't start talking about expansions until they are almost ready to roll out, and then they release them very quickly afterwards. If they do release SA, it will most likely be an internet download, and it will probably be either free or sell for the same price that UOML did. Hopefully, they will be smart enough to only sell it via the UO store. I flat out refuse to buy it from somewhere else after the nightmare I had when I got billed 3 times for one copy of UOML.
 

Uriah Heep

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well if KR is gonna be the end all be all, and the NEW UO, and our salvation from desolation, it need to be finished and put ON SOME STORE SHELVES!

There, nuff said.
 

Dermott of LS

UOEC Modder
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...

I agree Uriah, our work on KR outside the devs in no way IMO absolves them of NOT working on it. In fact, before we were told what was going on, I was BY FAR one of the most vocal in terms of ranting and raving on when a KR patch would be forthcoming. Now I know what is going on, I can understand why they aren't doing them. I don;t have to LIKE the reason, but I at least understand it and hope that the KR improvements can resume soon.

However, at least we've been given the green light to customize KR and in the process, we've been able to find common problems people have been reporting and at least put out an unofficial fix for them.

What I find to be a HUGE double standard is how people LAUD the work done with UOA to fix the MASSIVE number of UI deficiencies in the Legacy client while they deride the efforts of us who are working on making the KR UI better INSIDE the program. Anyone who wants to deride the work we are doing can UNINSTALL UOA right NOW. Play UO without your crutch... I DARE YOU.

I also agree on the Five on Friday, but I doubt we will ever see it. Some FoFs are simply more informative than others... sucks, but there it is.
 
G

galefan2004

Guest
...
What I find to be a HUGE double standard is how people LAUD the work done with UOA to fix the MASSIVE number of UI deficiencies in the Legacy client while they deride the efforts of us who are working on making the KR UI better INSIDE the program. Anyone who wants to deride the work we are doing can UNINSTALL UOA right NOW. Play UO without your crutch... I DARE YOU.
Where did I ever say anything about the work you are doing for KR? I don't remember ever saying that. When I play WoW, I don't exactly use Blizzard's default UI either. I love custom UI's that are built by players. When I played DAoC I made my own custom UI's (had a nice program for doing so) and played with them. It amazes me the ammount of effort that some people put into UI's and add-on's for free.
 

Uriah Heep

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Dermott, I'm glad we agree on this. And I, in no way, (even in past posts) intended to sound like I was belittling the work you guys were doing, just pissed off YOU guys were having to do it!
Personally, the UOA is a non-issue with me, I never had it in 10 years LOL, and still managed to play :p

But, on point, for me at least: KR is half done, either drop it or finish it, straddling the fence is gonna give ya a sore crotch. (got that from my Granddad)

SA is talked about, either detail it, or never mention it again (see above quote)
 

Dermott of LS

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
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...

Agreed there Uriah. I'd personally rather see a concentrated effort on fixing KR's issues (and yes there are MANY still outstanding that we have sent in REPEATEDLY ingame, via feedback, on Stratics, on the Focus Group, etc) than the work being done on the current "event". The turn-in is nice, but the "strangers" mean little to nothing to me, or to many people outside the few who have been able to fight them or ninja the loot.

For the past few years (up until the end of last year), I was more than willing to try and find people to play UO. Now I'm more reserved on that because I don't think UO is "ready" for new people right now. The Live Events are a good idea, but right now they are not exactly accessible to all players and even less so to newer players. WIth that in mind, I'd be more impressed to see some good KR Patchurdays instead of a small batch of uber-mobs.
 

JC the Builder

Crazed Zealot
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Stratics Legend
What I find to be a HUGE double standard is how people LAUD the work done with UOA to fix the MASSIVE number of UI deficiencies in the Legacy client while they deride the efforts of us who are working on making the KR UI better INSIDE the program.
Can you fix the client lag? No. Can you fix the art issues? No. Can you add in radar linking for any player you want? The answer is probably no. Our guild UOAM server has been down for a couple days and it has been so incredible frustrating to play without it. How are certain guilds supposed to even consider KR when there is no map linking available? The developers are just not listening to what the players want.

You might be able to fix a few issues with customizable interfaces but that is just throwing a fancy dress on a plague beast.
 

Dermott of LS

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Stratics Veteran
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...

I believe that I have constantly and consistently stated (even VERY CLEARLY in the user patch project thread) that we CAN'T solve every KR problem.

I have also been one of the most vocal in calling for more KR patches.

Sometimes I wonder if some people on this board even bother reading previous posts/threads before replying.

NONE of the KR advocates that I know have ever posted that KR is finished or that it doesn't have problems. However most of the current problems posted about here have actually been EXTERNAL to the client itself.

As for lag... unless I'm running imbedded video in Firefox, or trying to use my flatbed scanner or other taxing things with my system, KR doesn't lag any worse than any other UO client I have used (only exception I have seen is opening a chest full of items that are NOT in sub bags (i.e. a scrap metal to be resmelted bag or my resources chest)). I constantly run KR while having VEOH running or Winamp/Pandora (depending on music preference of the day), Firefox, Security programs, ICQ and Yahoo Messengers and it still runs nice and smooth... and my system isn't top of the line anymore by any stretch (mobo, processor and memory are all well over 2.5 years old, even my video card is over a year old).
 
S

Sneaky

Guest
Without EA Ultima ONLINE would not exist, EA bought origin and Ultima in 1992, Ultima ONLINE went live in 1997 so in essence, the EA you blame for bringing you Trammel, also brought you UO
No, I know that, I think you missed my point. I actually like EA, they just do some really stupid things sometimes.
 
S

Sneaky

Guest
Can you fix the client lag? No. Can you fix the art issues? No. Can you add in radar linking for any player you want? The answer is probably no. Our guild UOAM server has been down for a couple days and it has been so incredible frustrating to play without it. How are certain guilds supposed to even consider KR when there is no map linking available? The developers are just not listening to what the players want.

You might be able to fix a few issues with customizable interfaces but that is just throwing a fancy dress on a plague beast.
Yeh... but you can still do more with KR than 2D without 3rd party apps.

I agree these features should be implemented though :)
 
S

Sneaky

Guest
TBH what I think is will happen is a 'relaunch' of sorts for KR just prior to the release of SA, Jeremy has already stated they have hired more staff to work on KR recently, so I would expect (yeh I know, expecting EA to do something... rolleyes:) some patches for KR quite soon.
 
S

Sneaky

Guest
As for lag... unless I'm running imbedded video in Firefox, or trying to use my flatbed scanner or other taxing things with my system,
LOL the idea that KR lags is a joke hehe, I am ALWAYS getting accused of speedhacking whenever I PvP in KR. Its actually quite funny :lol:
 
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