Ultima Online Through The Ages

audrey666 · 26th October 2007, 03:25 PM

Pundits and players alike have been predicting the demise of Ultima Online ever since its highly anticipated debut in late September 1997. And on the cusp of its 10th anniversary, we find the love-it-or-hate-it MMO still breathing, clinging to a healthy (if lean) player base. UO's refusal to succumb to its harshest critics and toughest competitors is a testament to its flexibility and propensity for growth (or at least EA's desire to get every last cent out of the thing.) Over the years, Ultima Online's rotating cast of developers has kept the game fresh by modifying and improving it as the world around it evolves. And almost like clockwork, EA has spit out expansion packs nearly every year since 1998. These expansions add dramatic new features to keep UO's subscribers interested, such as new lands to explore, monsters to fight, or skills to master. Each release changed the feel of the game. But without those additions, UO would've grown stagnant and kicked the bucket long ago.

Full article at link:
http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3163486

How in the heck do I make a sentence "clickable?"

**Solidchrome** · 26th October 2007, 04:09 PM

Good read

Why say this though.. "Did You Know? Mondain's Legacy was the first UO expansion produced by a woman, Jessica Lewis. "

Why should we be surprised at that?

facattac · 30th October 2007, 12:05 PM

Review of Ultima Online on Gamespot.

T2A Review

REN.

Third Dawn

LBR

AoS

Samurai Empire

Mondain's Legacy

KR

7th Anny.

8th Age

9th Anni

**Adam** · 30th October 2007, 12:12 PM

I think the reviewer from 1up summed up UOKR perfectly with this one sentence

Quote:

Unfortunately, Kingdom Reborn -- as it currently stands -- is an unmitigated disaster.

They go on to say

Quote:

After only one month in open beta, EA Mythic released the decidedly lackluster client as a "final" product, possibly in a rush to coincide with UO's 10th anniversary. The client suffers from frequent crashes, graphical glitches, and bugs, while most of the artwork, when you really get down to it, looks like ridiculous Play-Doh versions of the originals. Even on modern computers that regularly handle more graphically intense MMOs like World of WarCraft, Guild Wars, and The Lord of the Rings Online with aplomb, Kingdom Reborn remains a sluggish, choppy, and crash-ridden monument to poor software development.

The project is starting to look like Third Dawn all over again. Except this time, the MMORPG to beat isn't EverQuest, but World of WarCraft. Accordingly, KR attempts to incorporate some of WOW's world-class user interface design. It's a good idea, since UO's interface has long been clumsy and cumbersome in the face of fast-paced combat situations. Any constructive change in that department is more than welcome. But the team's effort has been held back by the need to mix elements of UO's classic interface with WOW-style hotbars and inventory behavior.

Ultimately, Kingdom Reborn is a smart move -- if EA can get it right. Give it a year. By then, Kingdom Reborn will either be vastly improved or effectively abandoned.

Aurelius · 30th October 2007, 12:30 PM

Hmm... the picture used to illustrate Third Dawn looks awfully like KR to me, I know there are certain similarities with intention to move to a 'modern' 3d client, but maybe it's just kindness to hide away images of the older 3d

cadethepagan · 31st October 2007, 05:46 PM

I like the way the old UO client handles combat. It more realistic we would have to manually move items around and use them without a hotbar.

audrey666 · 31st October 2007, 07:24 PM

Heh, I had forgotten that I had posted this here until I saw it posted on Stratics.

phentis · 2nd November 2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Why EA didn't go fully 3D...

I also can't understand. I know, that EA wanted KR to be similar to Ultima Online... But I think it's time to change.
Soon will be released such games like Darkfall, which idea is very similar to Ultima Online's (they even copied UO backpack system, full corpse looting and even paperdoll system). But I can say it's more promising to new players then KR... Why? Because first of all it is an isometric game, almost all objects look like in Diablo (which was made in 199x as I know)...

The idea of KR to reborn Ultima Online is great! But it can't reborn the game if everything will go like now...

PS: Sorry for my English

26th October 2007, 03:25 PM	#1
audrey666 Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 73 Gold: 67 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ultima Online Through The Ages Pundits and players alike have been predicting the demise of Ultima Online ever since its highly anticipated debut in late September 1997. And on the cusp of its 10th anniversary, we find the love-it-or-hate-it MMO still breathing, clinging to a healthy (if lean) player base. UO's refusal to succumb to its harshest critics and toughest competitors is a testament to its flexibility and propensity for growth (or at least EA's desire to get every last cent out of the thing.) Over the years, Ultima Online's rotating cast of developers has kept the game fresh by modifying and improving it as the world around it evolves. And almost like clockwork, EA has spit out expansion packs nearly every year since 1998. These expansions add dramatic new features to keep UO's subscribers interested, such as new lands to explore, monsters to fight, or skills to master. Each release changed the feel of the game. But without those additions, UO would've grown stagnant and kicked the bucket long ago. Full article at link: http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3163486 How in the heck do I make a sentence "clickable?" Last edited by audrey666; 26th October 2007 at 03:26 PM..

26th October 2007, 04:09 PM	#2
Solidchrome † Virtual hero- real life geek † Join Date: Jul 2007 Shard: europa Posts: 1,046 Gold: 216 My Mood: Thanks: 64 Thanked 76 Times in 41 Posts	Re: Ultima Online Through The Ages Good read Why say this though.. "Did You Know? Mondain's Legacy was the first UO expansion produced by a woman, Jessica Lewis. " Why should we be surprised at that? Tovladian Soltyr- "..then I saw it was Solid and I was like "Ah ok" because we all know he's not the most complete box of crayons.." UOForums Need Your Donations- Click Here

30th October 2007, 12:05 PM	#3
facattac Lil' Scamp Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 280 Gold: 6,844 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Ultima Online Through The Ages Review of Ultima Online on Gamespot. T2A Review REN. Third Dawn LBR AoS Samurai Empire Mondain's Legacy KR 7th Anny. 8th Age 9th Anni Last edited by facattac; 30th October 2007 at 12:23 PM..

30th October 2007, 12:30 PM	#5
Aurelius Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 158 Gold: 9,774 Thanks: 7 Thanked 31 Times in 11 Posts	Re: Ultima Online Through The Ages Hmm... the picture used to illustrate Third Dawn looks awfully like KR to me, I know there are certain similarities with intention to move to a 'modern' 3d client, but maybe it's just kindness to hide away images of the older 3d

31st October 2007, 05:46 PM	#6
cadethepagan Join Date: Jul 2007 Shard: Great Lakes Posts: 429 Gold: 117 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Ultima Online Through The Ages I like the way the old UO client handles combat. It more realistic we would have to manually move items around and use them without a hotbar. Power is not given, it is taken!

31st October 2007, 07:24 PM	#7
audrey666 Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 73 Gold: 67 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Ultima Online Through The Ages Heh, I had forgotten that I had posted this here until I saw it posted on Stratics.

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