1) Release is this spring but the client is no where near beta state. This means that either things will be very rushed at the end (Third Dawn) or they are kidding themselves and will delay. If they do delay, good.

2) The developers are more concerned with conformity and usability then keeping classic "features". Mr Tact posted on Stratics that they might have an option to chat the way we do now. Might? There goes the 95% adoption rate.

3) The developers sound like they are thinking that if it doesn't make it in the initial release that it can easily be added after. This never turns out to be true.

4) If the classic interface is not there from day 1, it is going to seriously hamper established players from switching to the new client. Third Dawn did improve over its life, but the usage percentage kept going down. Once that bad first impression is there it is always there.

Personally I am on the fence right now, but Mr Tact's comments today put me squarely back on the legacy 2D side. I would login to the client to play in the new areas (ala Third Dawn) but I am not going to play it exclusively.

*Added*

Opps, this should have gone on the Kingdom Reborn board.

Moved for you JC ...

Either way this new 'upgrade' plays out, we are still in a sit tight mode I think.

You didnt think it seemed near ready for Beta by the vids/screens from Atlanta? Spring doesnt even start till March 21st and then it goes on for 3 months...it looked less than 6 mos away from release to me.
So, you dont think that every time you touch a key it gets lined up in the "speak line?" I think that that is one of the worst things about UOs current interface personally. In pretty much any other game Ive ever played you always had to push a key to get ready to speak. Much the sme way we press key to send out a guild message...

If your talking about "Chat" as in Party Chat, I didnt see anything on that yet, so sorry for taking your comment out of context.
I totally agree. If it doesnt hit the stands with it, itll eiher never get it or it will be a long time coming...especailly with work on Stygian Abyss that Im sure will begin as soon as KR is even nearly completed.

I have no doubt (as Im sure EA doesnt either) that there are going to be people that do not like the KR client. but this update has been a long time coming. There are alot of great things about UO in general, but there arent alot of great things about the 2d UI. Macros are clumsy and ineffecient, the backpack is the size of a postage stamp, the biggest gameplay window you can get 800x600, etc.
I think thats the biggest reason that they arent dumping the old client right away...give people time to adjust and to give the devs time to fine tune it to have what people want in it...

Of course. But if that number is over 10%, then it the developers will be stuck supporting 2 clients again. Third Dawn will probably be discontinued within 6 months because around 5% of players use it. There is no doubt that Kingdom Reborn is a vast improvement over Third Dawn, even in this alpha state. The 2D client is another matter entirely. If people didn't find it bearable, they would not play UO. The developers sound overconfident in the lore of their current feature set, something eerily similar to what happened with Third Dawn.

I agree that they sound very confident in the new client I also remember the third dawn release and how they thought everyone would jump on it and they could get rid of 2d, didn't happen!

however I don't think that the UI will be the deciding factor it was not with the 3d client it was the horrible lag and ugly graphics! I still think the 2d looks better then the current 3d client that's why I don't use it.

UO:KR looks a lot better then the current 3d client and its not even done yet! so that won't be a factor I think it will come down to the performance of the new client that will decide if people switch. it doesn't matter how pretty it is if it doesn't work people wont use it!

we will just have to wait and see........

I agree that UO:KR looks very disappointing. Hell, I've been disappointed ever since AoS hit *grumble grumble*

I don't personally believe people are going to jump to switch clients

If anything, i'd say most of the active players will stick with the current 2d client

Mind you, it isn't out yet, so I wouldn't want to speculate, but i'd probably stick with 2D myself, as i'm so used to it.

I must be the only person who is totally looking forward to UO:KR and the new client. While I'm generally not a big fan of change, I agree with the dev's that an overhaul to make the UO:KR interface more like other MMORPG's is a good thing. I think it will ultimately be easier to use, more intuitive, and more functional - nevermind that I'm used to the old client and will be uncomfortable with the new one while adjusting to it.

And no, I don't play any other MMORPG's - so I'm merely guessing that I will like such an interface. From the screenshots I've seen, though, I think I will.

From what I've read, the major features that make the UO interface... UO... will remain - like the top down view. Really, that's the only thing I insist on. I hate first person views. They make me dizzy.

I'd sure like to see more people willing to give the UO:KR interface a chance!

I am looking forward to UO:KR as well. You have to take into consideration that most are resistant to change, and the fact that some may not even play UO, but have an opinion on how UO should be played. Just ignore them and dont let them dictate how your game play will be.

I'm an active player, and I won't be sticking with the current 2d client. I'm very much looking forward to playing with the enhanced graphics and interface. I think those of us who are happy are just quietly going about the business of playing our game. It's the professional "whiners" who voice their opinions more often, I'm afraid.