Disappointed so far

But UO is so old, so brilliant but so old, if I could have a graphically better UO that would be my only wish.

 

I trust that RG and SL can improve on the original vision of UO given time and resources. UO was different from single player Ultimas. Being different was good. U7 was quite different from U6, and different was good.

People shouldn't fear change if they trust the designers.

 

I'm an old Ultima fan but I am also a huge fan of early UO and I believe more games need to explore what UO dared to do. Therefore, I believe it's a mistake to start stereotyping and polarizing people into the "single-player Ultimas camp" and the "UO camp." There are those of us who enjoy both.

Some of you here seem to be forgetting UO was an Ultima. It's really not fair or accurate to say UO isn't included as an Ultima when SotA was described as a "spiritual successor to Ultima." Back before UO, Ultima fans (and the developers themselves) would always discuss how amazing it would be to play a multiplayer Ultima. That's why UO came about in the first place. Whether you liked the result or not is irrelevant. It's still an Ultima.

Just because some of your minds are now imprinted with indelible impressions of your negative experiences in online gaming which may have polarized you into being against multiplayer and/or massively multiplayer games like UO doesn't mean it isn't possible to make something that defies conventions and exists completely outside the box in which your thinking does. Conversely, a massively multiplayer game can successfully incorporate elements that are designed as single player experiences even though most attempts so far would probably be labeled failures. It is possible to meld the two worlds and appeal to gamers of all kinds. I don't think SotA is necessarily going to be very successful at that, but it definitely qualifies as another experiment, and the point remains that it is possible.

To the people who've never experienced a single-player Ultima: go and play Ultima 7 right now.

 

I say this as an equal fan of single-player Ultimas and UO, but the fact of the matter is, the people who want a sequel to UO are a much larger crowd than the people wanting another single-player Ultima.

The fact that the UO crowd is even polling at roughly 50-50 in this community shows this, because they are currently underrepresented here due to the fact that SotA is not appealing to (or catering to) them and they are not finding a friendly reception here on the forums. The fact that UO sold more copies than all single player Ultimas combined is also further proof. Most of the UO crowd are largely on the fence about this game if they haven't already written it off.

There are a lot of people out there that no doubt would want another single-player Ultima, if they had ever played one. Ultima games come from a time before gaming really exploded into the mainstream. Those of us looking for another single-player Ultima are a pretty small minority of gamers, to be honest.

 

People aren't wanting an "exact clone of UO," they're wanting something better and for the idea to continue to evolve because it was brilliant and has been proven to be so as the longest running MMO.

 

I wish I could but they haven't made a game I've liked in a long time. Hope this one changes my mind and becomes an exception.

 

UO had it's day. Time for something new.
This game is not a UO clone and won't be. It's gonna be Ultima but better and online.

 

Agreed.

Honestly, Ultima Online never really *felt* like what I would have considered an "Ultima" to be.

Sure it was set in the Ultima universe, with the same map, and same lore. But it lacked whatever aspect that made the other Ultima games resonate with me.

Don't get me wrong, I loved UO to bits while I played it. But I did not love it because it had the brand "Ultima" in its name, it was a solid and fun product all on its own.

 

I think they've already made some key mistakes that will keep this game from ever being "better" than any of the Ultimas unless you're comparing exclusively to Ultimas 1-5, in which case I'd agree...

 

And more importantly, it will have its own unique story that is different from any of the previous ultimas.

 

Well considering Terry is writing it now and someone completely different wrote the first ultima's. I think they have that covered.

 

That would be a breach of contract. What this game is was set WAYYYYYYYY back when they were asking us to support it on kickstarter. Even if it wasn't a breach of contract to completely change that now and a breach of faith, RG has said on various occasions that what WE, who supported the game first before there WAS a game are the ones he wants to please first and foremost so completely changing direction to the kill-a-thon you want would go against his own promises. That's even ignoring Chris who has set out quite logical reasons why going down the full UO route would be a bad thing. One of the devs even wrote an article before joining SotA on why UO would never work again and why that is a good thing (can't remember which one or where it was, someone else might have the link)

but don't despair. If thats what you really want try this game
http://albiononline.com/
Or maybe try DayZ
http://dayzmod.com/

If you want a deep involved story game which can be played with friends developed by RG and written by RG and Tracy Hickman then stay here and you will get that. or play both

 

From what I'm seeing, both Terry Tracy and Richard are working on the story. But I agree that Terry Tracy is probably going to bring something fresh to this game in terms of storyline.

Edit: I made the same error you did. oops.

 

I have over a hundred games on my GOG account, a large number of them old games from the 80s or 90s that I still play nowadays. Including the old Ultimas.

I've also recently finished the old GBC Zelda games, a couple Mario ones, the old Dragon's Lair, and I'm going through a series of playthroughs of the revamped version of Ducktales in order to complete all Steam achievements.

So, pleased to meet you. I take a healthy dose of old games in my gaming diet.

If the interviews I've seen with previous UO devs are indication, high player churn, as well as a large number of support calls (and the costs associated with answering them), caused by rampant PK activity are among the main reasons. Previous UO developers worked in about every big MMO released from Everquest onwards; if they thought the original, unmodified UO model would be successful in attracting large number of players, they would likely have copied it.

 

LOL....oops. Yeah, Tracy.

 

The difference is that you are already guaranteed your home in SoTA, and we are not. People who are coming here from UO are looking for reasons why this game was sold to them (for instance by RG/Blackthorn dropping in on UO freeshards, including Pre-Trammel ones) when it isn't shaping out to be a game that may interest them. God forbid we have some features in the game that would make it appealing to us...

Certain fundamentals are already guaranteed. Consentual PvP, a major focus on the storyline etc. Those will not change, so you can pretty much ignore the hardcores calling for features like full open pvp etc. That being said, it bothers me when those who already are here for those previously guaranteed features crap all over people for even mentioning something that may have been inspired by UO.

Also to the people who are saying that the whole UO argument is getting overplayed, please remember that some people have been following this game concept since before it was a kickstarter. RG has even done interviews (which admittedly are outdated) where he did even mention UO2 in those. Obviously it has evolved since then, but to write off the UO crowd is unfair, and the feeling of them being left behind is justified.

 

Just jumping into this thread and again hearing spiritual successor being mentioned, so I thought to myself hey I'll just look up the meaning to see
what is said. So here is what I found. *****cheers**** all.


spiritual successor
Web definition

1. A spiritual successor, sometimes called a spiritual sequel, is a successor to a work of fiction which does not build upon the storyline established by a
   previous work as do most traditional prequels or sequels, but nevertheless features many of the same elements, themes, and styles as its source ...

 

That's ridiculous. What a way to grossly oversimplify things and draw conclusions based on anecdotal evidence at best (assuming anyone even takes your word for it this anecdotal evidence even exists).

You assume developers are in control of what games they make or the direction they take them in rather than the upper executives and executive producers. It was nearly impossible for anyone to make UO in the first place because executives couldn't be convinced, but they were later proven wrong by the numbers and it turned into a cash cow EA milked for over 15 years.

 

I think you misunderstand some of the anti-open-full-loot-pvp comments and are a bit defensive. There's really no need to be. There are as many opinions here as there are posters. And as many motivations. We have pvp and non-pvp at both extremes of the spectrum and every variation & degree in between. I can't recall seeing anyone calling for no pvp at all though.

Speaking for myself, I never comment if someone is merely talking about features they want for the pvp portion of the game as long as it will have no affect on me. I have no desire to diminish your game. In fact I hope that the pvp in this game is fun and engaging since I have friends who enjoy pvp and I sure wouldn't want their fun diminished.

I do, however, comment on things that will adversely affect my own enjoyment of the game, like when people are lamenting pre-trammel UO which was totally non-consensual pvp, and calling for this game to emulate that. Be honest now, if people were constantly posting and demanding that the game be changed to have absolutely no pvp anywhere in the game, what would be your reaction? Methinks it would be a pretty good approximation, in reverse, of how the calls for pre-tram UO affect the non-pvpers.

As for RG saying UO2, do you have a link for that?

 

In this rant you directed at me, you have incorrectly attributed certain viewpoints to me. Also, you don't speak for everyone who supported this game from the beginning so don't presume to.