ultima online
Latest
Garriott shares Ultima Online anecdotes for 15th anniversary
It's been a week of remembrances for past and present members of the Ultima Online dev team. The title's 15th anniversary has offered ample opportunity for stories from the early days, the latest of which come courtesy of Lord British himself (and no, it's not the one about his in-game death). Richard Garriott tells of his run-in with a player thief bent on ruining the game experience for a new player. It's an amusing anecdote that illustrates how UO's early incarnation led to plenty of unexpected gameplay scenarios. "After [the incident], I began to think more carefully about the rules we ourselves put in the game, and the inevitable play styles that would come of it," Garriott writes.
Raph Koster reminisces about Ultima Online 15 years later
Fifteen years of any MMO is a legitimate enough excuse to wax nostalgic, so we can't blame original Ultima Online developer Raph Koster for writing down a few thoughts about the game's 15th anniversary. His article is a collection of early behind-the-scenes vignettes, including how a player from one of his previous MUDs followed him to UO to sue the game, how the architecture presented challenges, and the pain of cutting unfinished content prior to launch. Koster is bluntly honest about the middling reception of the game at the time of its launch, although he said he reveled in the positive press: "The EA lawyers were very unhappy with me over a quote from that newspaper article in the pic. I ended by saying Ultima Online was 'a grand experiment.' They said, 'Don't you realize that's the sort of thing they will use in court against us?' But it was. Grand."
Ultima Online celebrates 15 years with regicide [Updated]
Ultima Online has a big anniversary today, one that you can only really celebrate if you're the first graphical MMO on the market. This marks the game's 15th anniversary, and that's definitely the sort of thing that merits a celebration. So the staff has decided to celebrate by deposing the current ruler and ushering in a new king. (We admit that the plot may not actually involve regicide, but kings are not usually known for their calm and peaceful surrender of power.) The changing of the king is the culmination of a seven-month plot arc, with the actual coronation of the new ruler sparking a major in-game event. If you're a former player, it's well worth jumping back in to check out what happens when power changes hands. You can also jump on past the break to see our own Beau Hindman livestreaming with the Ultima Online development team in celebration of the 15-year anniversary. [Source: Electronic Arts press release] [Update: UltimaCodex.com has a full transcript of the chat if you want to read it yourself!]
The Daily Grind: Are live events due for a revival?
Live MMO events have long since fallen by the development wayside in the pursuit of scripted "dynamic" events. It used to be that game studios would send paid GMs into the game to roleplay with players in a tabletop-like scenario, conducting large-scale storytelling events and spawning enemies, locations, and items. Ultima Online, which celebrates its 15th birthday this week, is particularly well-known for these sorts of events, but they've seldom been replicated in later generations of triple-A MMOs. TERA, apparently, hopes to change that with the implementation of Flash events, "spontaneous events focused on small groups of users and run by staff." They might seem a little out of place in TERA, but they could be a niche worth resurrecting. Live, impromptu events might have the disadvantage of involving only small groups of people and not the entire population, but that's exactly what makes them so intriguing for the players who happen to be in the right zone at the right time when one of these events starts. What do you think? Do you wish more studios would get over their crush on pseudo-dynamic events and return to live events? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Four years of WAR: An interview with Mythic's James Casey
To celebrate Warhammer Online's fourth anniversary this week, we got in touch with EA Mythic Producer James Casey to talk about the past, present, and future of WAAAGH! Massively: Four years is a sizable length of time in any MMO's life. How does it feel to hit that mark? James Casey: It feels great to have been able to have support from the Warhammer and gaming community for the last four years. That support has allowed us to continue bringing them the thrilling Realm vs. Realm combat and engrossing worlds that they have come to expect from Mythic and Games Workshop. To your point about four years being a sizable length of time for an MMO, I will say that as a studio, we actually have a stable of MMOs that have been around for a damn respectable amount of time. From Ultima Online hitting its amazing 15th anniversary this year to Dark Age of Camelot having already broken that fabled 10-year mark, we've had a remarkable run in the MMO space, and I think that I can speak for everyone who has come and gone or still remains in saying a heartfelt thanks to all of our fans and customers over all the years. We owe that track record to them, and we hope that as we continue to evolve and develop as a studio and across our products, we can provide more of that sense of community in all of our offerings.
The Daily Grind: Have MMO standards changed for the better?
When Ultima Online launched in 1997, most of us were happy just to walk from one end of the city to the other without crashing. EverQuest didn't actually offer any quests in those early days. Star Wars Galaxies launched without vehicles, let alone starships, and World of Warcraft issued forth without any sort of formal PvP at all. But in 2012, our standards have changed. Now we complain when Star Wars: The Old Republic launches without a dungeon finder and when Guild Wars 2 dungeons feel a bit loose two weeks into the game. Our complaints are no longer about basic gameplay bugs and functionality, and so our discussions sound esoteric to all but the most die-hard MMO gamer. Does this mean our MMO standards have changed as our games have grown up -- and have they changed for the better? Or do we expect more from games than they can reasonably provide? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
MMO Blender: Using older MMOs to build a perfectly paced world
One of the issues I have with so many modern AAA titles is that when I play them, I immediately feel forced through a series of noisy and chaotic moments. I know that these tutorials are supposed to make me feel as though I am stepping into a sort of world-on-fire, but to me it just feels like a mess. RIFT is a great game, truly, but every time I want to start a new character or try the game out again, I dread going through the annoying tutorial. It's so demanding. It grabs my hand and pulls me through a linear series of non-discoveries. Now, this might just be my fading gamer memory, but I distinctly remember how it felt to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere in an MMO. While there are a few modern titles like Wurm Online that basically do the same thing, the mystery and immersion of those first few levels in most major MMOs has been replaced by sheer noise. I don't like it. Good pacing is a wonderful thing. If it's tweaked just right, players feel immediately invested in a world even while feeling completely lost. I'd like to make this week's dream MMO using those older-game designs. It's time to slow down.
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs embrace item decay?
If you grew up on themeparks like World of Warcraft, the very idea of item decay is probably foreign to you. Just go to the vendor and click the repair button and everything's just as it was the day you looted it, right? Well, no. In older games and especially in sandboxes, you'd need a player to repair your gear, and sometimes not even that would help. Sometimes the gear was irreparable, meaning that once it ran out of juice, it was gone forever. Decaying items are really not all that different from items with charges that deplete (consider Guild Wars 2's and Glitch's crafting tools), but modern gamers freak out at the idea that they might lose their gear to wear, and I don't blame them since many themeparks turn gear acquisition into a huge grind. But even sandboxes like Ultima Online have hedged their original item decay systems, allowing players to repair many artifacts indefinitely. It might take a fundamental change in game design, but what do you think -- should MMOs bring back item decay? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Game Archaeologist: Is Ultima Online 2 a doomed prospect?
When it comes to classic MMOs that have strong nostalgic pull with veterans, the topic does arise from time to time what a sequel to any given game would look like and how it would be received in the current gamer climate. We've already talked about updating graphics here in The Game Archaeologist, but I'm talking about more than a new coat of paint -- I'm talking about a new game entirely. A Star Trek: The Next Generation to the classic Star Trek. A One Direction to the New Kids on the Block. A Madden '13 to a Madden '12. I'm stretching here. In a recent franchise producer's letter, Mythic's Jeff Skalski gave fans of Ultima Online a teeny tiny glimmer of hope that Ultima Online 2 might one day be a reality. Depending on your read of it, it could've just been a "stop asking about UO2 already" plea, a shameless way to promote Ultima Forever, or one fan talking to another about something that could happen if both parties work toward a common goal. Considering the troubled past of Ultima Online's sequels, we have to wonder: Is this more false hope than real hope? Is there any conceivable way that this 15-year-old MMO could one day be granted the same honor as EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Guild Wars, and PlanetSide by getting a sequel that actually launches? I have some thoughts on all this, which is good because otherwise there would be a whole lot of white space after the jump.
Ultima Online maps out remainder of 2012
If you don't mind being spoiled when it comes to your favorite isometric sandbox, then you might want to head over to Ultima Online's official site, where Producer Bonnie Armstrong has spilled the beans about the game's immediate and long-term future. Armstrong begins by laying a foundation for the game's updates, starting with Publish 78 any day now, Publish 79 around Christmas-time, and Publish 80 for early next year. She also revealed a lengthy list of features that the team is thinking about implementing for UO, including high-res art, a better UI, new sea creatures and encounters, and a battleground shard. Specifics about each publish's contents are still up in the air, although Armstrong says the team will post them soon enough. For Ultima Online's 15th anniversary, Armstrong says that Mythic is bringing back the Return to Britannia promotion for all of September. This means that any former UO subscribers will be welcome to come back and play free of charge. The team will be distributing anniversary rewards during the month as well.
The Daily Grind: Should PvE crowd-control work in PvP?
One of my very biggest pet peeves about playing a Protection Warrior in World of Warcraft is the fact that taunt does not work in PvP. Some players argue that having platemail and a huge bar of health makes up for my losing a core class ability, but I say platemail and a huge bar of health is pretty useless when I can't force players to attack me. World of Warcraft is hardly the only game that nerfs core skills for PvP. Ultima Online, for example, offers music skills like Peacemaking and Provocation that can't be used on other players, rendering Bards ineffective Felucca-side. But it needn't be that way. Warhammer Online was a breath of fresh air; at launch, I ran around on my Ironbreaker, gleefully taunting other players and forcing their attention to me. Hit me, fools! Muahaha! Sure, I'd rather see more organic and tactical combat such that taunt as a mechanic isn't even necessary, and some players might say Guild Wars 2 does just that. But what about those games that can't just cut taunt from the skill roster? Do you think PvE crowd-controls like taunt should work in PvP? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Mythic: Help us convince execs to make Ultima Online 2
As Ultima Online turns the corner into its 15th anniversary next month, many fans have wondered why Mythic is focusing on its not-quite-an-MMO Ultima Forever instead of a proper sequel. Producer Jeff Skalski took to the podium to talk about Ultima's future and how fans might help the studio sell higher-ups on a return to the days of glory. Skalski says that it's important to realize that Ultima Forever and Ultima Online are being worked on by separate teams, so there's no draining of resources from one into the other. "We have a phrase here in the office that every generation deserves an Ultima game," he said. "It's been far too long." When the 15th anniversary hits, expect fun surprises, Skalski promised. He finished by making a plea for fans to support Ultima Forever, saying that it might lead to better things: "For those interested in seeing an UO2: No surprise announcements on that today, but what I will say by everyone continuing to support UO and Ultima Forever this is the kind of ammunition I need to convince the high level execs that the market is ready for more Ultima."
The Daily Grind: How should MMOs handle character names?
Names are a big deal in MMOs. I've struggled through many a horrible launch to score a good name and camp names for friends until they can log in because only rarely does a game allow unlimited copies of a name. Ultima Online is one such game, as is Champions Online, though your global handle there is yours alone. The Secret World requires a unique nickname; your "real" name can be a duplicate. But most games just code for one use of a name per realm. (After all, one Malcolm Reynolds per server is plenty.) City of Heroes took a stand on the issue. Years before CoH's F2P conversion, Paragon Studios boldly adopted name-recycling. If your account was inactive for three months, your characters' names were put back into the pool for other players to use. You didn't lose your character, but you were forced to rename her the next time you logged in. It was wonderful for active players who could make more immediate use of names no one was actively using but not so great for encouraging former players to return. So how do you think MMOs should handle character names? [Thanks to Joel for inspiring this topic!] Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Koster, Vogel, Long headline GDC Online Ultima panel
The 2012 edition of GDC Online is filling out its schedule, and one of the more interesting dev panels is a "classic game postmortem" concerning Ultima Online. While the term postmortem is a bit of a misnomer since the game is still very much alive, the panel features an eclectic mix of dev personalities who helped shape both UO and the industry itself. Original UO team members Starr Long, Rich Vogel, and Raph Koster will discuss how a "combination of insane ambition and idealistic cluelessness can sometimes result in creating something that changes people's lives and the course of an industry," according to the GDC website. If you'll be in Austin, Texas, from October 9th through the 11th, stop by and learn a thing or two about MMOs and the folks who make them.
MMO Blender: Larry's old-school 16-bit MMO
In August of 1991, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System launched in North America, kick-starting what would eventually be the biggest boom in console roleplaying games. Granted, some of us had been playing RPGs on consoles like the original NES, but RPGs didn't see as big a console boom as they did on the SNES. In fact, console RPGs haven't seen the same level of popularity since the SNES. A quick jump over to VGChartz shows us that out of the top 50 games sold world-wide on any individual console, RPGs on the SNES dominated the NES, the Playstation, and even the Nintendo DS, boasting titles like Dragon Quest VI, Final Fantasy III, and Super Mario RPG. If you take into account some adventure games that should be considered RPGs, like Super Metroid and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, then you have arguably the best platform of all time for the genre. Nowadays, with online gaming and indie companies sprouting up all over the place, a 16-bit online RPG would probably sell really well, especially if it took some of the best elements from the classic console RPGs of the NES/SNES era. Isn't that right, Cthulhu Saves the World? Let's see what I can throw together from some of my favorite 8- and 16-bit games.
The Daily Grind: Do you have a fallback MMO?
My first fallback MMO, though I'd not have called it that at the time, was Ultima Online. Whenever I got sick of EverQuest or Dark Age of Camelot, I found myself wandering back to my houses in Britannia. World of Warcraft took over for a while, and then Star Wars Galaxies (yes, post-post-NGE) became my safe MMO -- the world to which I could retreat after a particularly nasty break-up with the latest and greatest themepark shiny, something that seemed to happen with increasing frequency as post-WoW games rushed to launch and left me wanting more. More recently, I've set up camp in City of Heroes. I don't play it every day, but since it went free-to-play, it's always there when I need to tool around in something happily familiar that hits all the right nostalgia notes. What about you folks? Do you have a fallback MMO, a game you return to when you're in between games? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Free for All: Why the unlimited trials of RIFT, WoW, and Ryzom are perfect for me
I think there are some pretty basic but complicated concepts going on behind MMO gaming. There always have been. There's some sort of driving force that makes many of us want to reach that max level or grab every last achievement or (in my case) get to a comfortable level and stay there. I did it in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes: I reached level 32, cast a spell to stop my character from gaining anymore experience, and continued playing and exploring the game. Not only was I tired of leveling, but I knew that if I continued to level, I would probably continue to try to level. Like I said, it's a basic driving force. We all have them inspiring us to play in different ways. I don't want to reach max level. Not really, anyway. I want to have a unique character, one who is fragile in some ways and strong in others. When I do reach higher levels, I start to feel generic and a bit too powerful. I want to have some force stop my character, to give him his own maximum level while others reach the true maximum level. Unlimited free trials have shown me just how fun it is to have a sort-of-max-level character within a game filled with other max levels. It's like playing a different race or class, something unique.
The Game Archaeologist: What if World of Warcraft had never happened?
As you know well by now, I do love me some "what ifs?" from time to time. In an industry as volatile and unpredictable as this one, it's not hard to imagine a world where, say, Ultima X did launch or where Bill Roper is coming off his fourth straight successful game or where a different studio secured the rights to a popular IP over another one. Perhaps the king of all MMO "what ifs" deals with the former (yes, former) king of MMOs. What if World of Warcraft never happened? Putting aside our own personal reaction, which may range from heartfelt relief to severe heartburn, we should look at this question without bias or emotion. Today I'm going to step way, way out on a limb and talk about an alternate universe where one of the biggest MMOs of all time simply did not happen. In that universe, how did the MMO industry unfold from 2004 on, and what would we be looking at playing today? Maybe it's an impossible mind exercise, but I've been mulling it over for a while, so here are six outcomes that I think are quite likely.
Repopulation devs: Crafting system is similar to UO and SWG
Most modern-day MMORPG crafting mechanics are, shall we say, uninspired. With the marginalization of the sandbox and the rise of the combat lobby, crafting and meaningful economic gameplay has taken a back seat in all but a handful of titles. The Repopulation is one such title, and the dev team has released a new video that shows off the sci-fi sandbox's crafting mechanics. Fortunately for starving tradeskill fans everywhere, the game hearkens back to the days of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. In those titles, "players were able to exist completely as a crafter, harvesting their own materials and then using them to create things," according to the game's website. "We have designed our system in a mold similar to those games. If players do not wish to partake in combat, they can still be a successful crafter," the devs explain. The new Repopulation tradeskills video gives us a good look at recipes and recipe customization via ingredient filters. There's also a brief bit about creature resource extraction, so check out the full nine-minute clip after the break. [Thanks to J.C. for the tip!]
Rise and Shiny: Illarion
If your plan in life is partially to cover indie MMOs, a niche within a niche, you're bound to come up with some odd games once in a while. You're also bound to come up with boring, bland, bad, horrible, incomplete, waste-of-time, hideous, and of course, amazing games. I went back to my recently thrown-out roots and grabbed a game at random for this week's column: Illarion. Did I find a bad game or an incomplete game? A bit of both, but the game and its creators deserve an explanation. Making MMOs is hard. We all know this, or at least we should. If you don't, and if you are one of those players who get upset every time their favorite free-to-play title asks them to spend five dollars (usually every six months or so), then you really need to understand that making MMOs is hard. I understand this, but I still have to cover games honestly. So let me first say that what I found in Illarion was honestly confusing.
