I know that UO KR is the next major upgrade in UO, but I really would like to know if there is going to be the long forgotten UO 2, that I was really sad to know it was cancelled in 1999 (if I'm correct).
I think UO is the best MMORPG for its skill based system, a lot of profession possibilites and little limitations, but the fact that its graphics are not good (even KR compared with a lot of others like WoW, Age of Conan, SWG etc) cuz its 2D without rotating camera, really make things hard, at least for a lot of friends of mine. The solo game is not very inviting and the combat kinda limitated. All of this was already a problem in 1999, 8 years ago, when UO 2 was announced and me and my friends were extremely excited about that upcoming game.
So, I ask again: is UO 2 in the near plans?

I think all good MMORPG have a graphic style, UO's is hand draw/picture book. One of the reasons WOW stands out against Everquest, Lineage(Spelling?) and Guildwars is the cartoon style of the art. If UO is going to stay around for another decade, it will be because the game continues to play like a storybook.

You know what UO 2's screenshots reminded me of Everquest. 2d still has its place in modern gaming, look at Odin Sphere (PS2) the sprites were breathtaking.

Did they ever give a definitive answer as to why UO2 was scrapped?

my guess would be they didnt want competion between both of the uo's

My understanding was that was the basic reasoning. It made no sense to split the player base, lots of MMO's were on the Horizon and it was felt it was best to improve what they had.
Again all if my memory serves me correct.

They could have just shut down the original.

Almost like what's going on now, where 2D will be gone if 95% of time spent in game is in KR, except they could have actually brought 2D to an end graciously with some kind of dramatic storyline that actually closes the book, instead of forcefully bringing on a new client while the old faithful moan & groan about the change.

If they were worried about people being upset about losing their stuff (because they would, moving to a new game (UO2)) then when 2D came to a close, every active account would get their own unique code that would atleast give them something equivelant (not everything would be the same obviously, but some type of compensation) to what was owned in 2D in the new game.

But Dip if they ended 2D graciously they could not continue to milk all the players that they have convinced that they have no immediate plans to shut it down, nor will they force people to play KR.

Nor could they continue to milk those players that would like to try KR but it runs so poorly on the promised "lower" end systems, that they keep asking for people to be patient (ie keep paying) while they fix things.

If they(EAMythic) cared and had any corporate honor, they would release the real system requirements so the people with the lower end computers can see that they are not wanted and can try to bring their pain to an end. and find some other place for their entertainment dollars.

But it not about doing the right thing by their loyal playerbase. Nor is it about love for the game. Its about the almighty dollar, the weekly paycheck and a line on the resume showing previous game programming/artist experience.

That could be true Warsong. If it is, I'd be hard pressed to believe it was anyone else other than Robert Nutting or Kevin McClatchy in charge.

Well I know that my opinion borders on the extreme paranoid, but these are the same people (Mythic Entertainment) who purposefully pissed off their playerbase to quit in mass numbers, in DAoC. And that was their baby, Why should they give a damn about their stepchild? With a new baby (Warhammer Online) due in a few months (Feb 08)?

UO:2 won't happen, they burned the code in a huge bonfire in lake austin right before the move to the EA campus. Some of it survived (ridgebacks).

As far as WHY, EQ and EQ2 should make that evident. There is no business sense in it (as stated above). Better to string us along, then do the bait and switch.