Turbine's AC2 the way it was originally intended to be, before MS killed it with little support directly after launch and forcing Turbine to create its own chat server while it effectively killed the game, as did a couple of HUGE bugs that allowed insta level maxing with no high end content. Darn I still miss it.....
As to Gods and Heroes, it would have been the first MMO without any crafting. After I found out it had no crafting I had no interest in it whatsoever. Even if it had been published it would never have had much of a following.
You say that as though it is somehow worse than having a token crafting system that has no depth whatsoever and is a nuisance to deal with, which seems to be the more common model.
It's beyond belief that UO2 was never created. A sandbox, skill based mmorpg with the UO lore would attract a very large crowd and will undoubtedly recoup any and all investments. It won't be a WoW killer but it will be leaps and bounds ahead of WAR or AoC. When making a sequel you never want to alienate your existing base like EQ1/AC but after 12+ years I am sure they would be understanding!
The Ultima series had how many games? 10? 9? something like that......You'd think they would have made a 2nd UO but maybe they thought the expansions were enough.......
It's beyond belief that UO2 was never created. A sandbox, skill based mmorpg with the UO lore would attract a very large crowd and will undoubtedly recoup any and all investments. It won't be a WoW killer but it will be leaps and bounds ahead of WAR or AoC. When making a sequel you never want to alienate your existing base like EQ1/AC but after 12+ years I am sure they would be understanding!
The Ultima series had how many games? 10? 9? something like that......You'd think they would have made a 2nd UO but maybe they thought the expansions were enough.......
Not quite sure on this, but I believe you are thinking of the single-player Ultima series, I have a few of the games, and I have not heard anything about UO having any more than just it.
I was actually fortunate enough to attend an event in San Francisco for Ultima X way back in the days when this website was just a small startup. I got the opportunity to play them game with press members from GameSpot, IGN, PC Gamer and many more. We played for hours on huge projection screens and I thought the game was amazingly fun. It really shocked me when just months later they cancelled the title - it seemed so polished and far ahead of its time (this was like 2003 if my memory is working today).
The event was August 2003 if I recall. It was early 2004 when Origin was shut down and summer 2004 when the game was canceled. The studio closing was a bit of a surprise to us as well.
It's nice to see people still remember UXO. Now you've got me all nostalgic too!
(also, I noticed in my profile that my title still says UXO dev - since that's not the case, could I get it changed to just "Developer" for now, thanks!)
We'll make the swap (edit: someone already has it seems!)
Funny that little event is so well remembered. That was my first assignment back in the day too, I was with IGN. The first time anyone let me go travel for games, hehe. Tiny word, but the game did look like a lot of fun.
Dana Massey Formerly of MMORPG.com Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
I was fortunate enough to be in the beta for that game and was very very disappointed when it closed. I still have hopes that some development team will buy the rights and let that game see the light of day. I think it would have been a really nice MMO that would have been a lot of fun.
My personal favorite cancelled project was EA's Battletech MMO. I still think the concept would work if developed by professionals.
I admit to a bit of fanboyism though, as Battletech and Warhammer 40K are the two settings I want to see a game in, and done well. Warhammer Fantasy has failed the "done well" test, so I don't have much hope of seeing the others for years, if ever.
I was so bummed when Ultima X was cancelled. And then double bummed when Ultima Online 2 was canned. I hope Blizzard has the forethought to make WoW 2 before WoW fades to nothing like the original trio of MMOs. I'll settle for Diablo 3 though
We were so psyched for UXO. I was following it very closely with a pal of mine who had enjoyed the original UO. Personally I never got to see the game, so I was very much looking forward to UXO.
Wish was a mixed bag, but ultimately promising. I enjoyed being in the beta. The UI definitely needed a lot of love, but getting beyond that showed a MMO with huge promise; promise that it likely could have met.
I can tell you with authority as I had an inside sources in Mutable Realms - Wish was canceled due to lack of interest from the potential subscribers. Not enough people signed up for the beta. Those people who were invited into the beta didn't stick around long, - some only played a couple of days. I think the writing was on the wall. If people wouldn't play for free, they wouldn't pay to play. While promising, it didn't have the word of mouth buzz and hype needed to get a large number of people to come and try it. It was determined the game would likely not be profitable, and the plug was pulled.
"Also, come on, it was Romans... it was Space... it was Sci-Fi. Romans with big freaking space guns."
I remember reading about Imperator, had played DAoC so was very interested in seeing the next Mythic MMO at the time. Still, I couldn't help but think "Didn't Warhammer 40k already do that?". Even the screenshots of this game could be mistaken for a 40k game, those centurions are wearing power-armor!!
To be fair, only space marines can be considered interstellar romans. Imperial guard models seem to either be inspired by U.S. army forces circa Vietnam or Soviets.
I can tell you with authority as I had an inside sources in Mutable Realms - Wish was canceled due to lack of interest from the potential subscribers. Not enough people signed up for the beta. Those people who were invited into the beta didn't stick around long, - some only played a couple of days. I think the writing was on the wall. If people wouldn't play for free, they wouldn't pay to play. While promising, it didn't have the word of mouth buzz and hype needed to get a large number of people to come and try it. It was determined the game would likely not be profitable, and the plug was pulled.
Must be nice to have sources on the inside... Turns out, I was actually on the dev team for that one when it was cancelled and I don't recall getting a reason.
I don't remember exactly how many people signed up for beta, but I DO know that it was quite a large number for an indie company at the time, and I remember that people were pretty pleased with it
Guess your sources must have been better than mine. In the office I worked in. I'm not saying that wasn't the reason, I'm just saying.
I can tell you with authority as I had an inside sources in Mutable Realms - Wish was canceled due to lack of interest from the potential subscribers. Not enough people signed up for the beta. Those people who were invited into the beta didn't stick around long, - some only played a couple of days. I think the writing was on the wall. If people wouldn't play for free, they wouldn't pay to play. While promising, it didn't have the word of mouth buzz and hype needed to get a large number of people to come and try it. It was determined the game would likely not be profitable, and the plug was pulled.
Must be nice to have sources on the inside... Turns out, I was actually on the dev team for that one when it was cancelled and I don't recall getting a reason.
I don't remember exactly how many people signed up for beta, but I DO know that it was quite a large number for an indie company at the time, and I remember that people were pretty pleased with it
Guess your sources must have been better than mine. In the office I worked in. I'm not saying that wasn't the reason, I'm just saying.
I don't believe him either. There seemed to be many players when I was on. Maybe that was some kind of ultra realistic AI mobs?!
The list needs Middle Earth Online. It technically is the same game as LotRO with a name change, but LotRO is basically the NGE version of the awesome game that MEO could have been. LotRO sucks in comparison.
I have to agree that the "sandbox" version of Middle Earth and Imperator would top my list as well...
I'd also be curious to see a "worst post-launch decisions/direction change" run down...my personal pick would be the SWG->NGE thing of course, followed closely by DAoC->Trials of Atlantis...but I am sure there are others.
I have to agree that the "sandbox" version of Middle Earth and Imperator would top my list as well... I'd also be curious to see a "worst post-launch decisions/direction change" run down...my personal pick would be the SWG->NGE thing of course, followed closely by DAoC->Trials of Atlantis...but I am sure there are others.
ToA would have to fight a battle against /level 20. Arguably, /level was far more desctructive to the game than ToA.
Comments
Ultima Onlime X trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWumht6AuZo
I was so disappointed when it was canceled.
Turbine's AC2 the way it was originally intended to be, before MS killed it with little support directly after launch and forcing Turbine to create its own chat server while it effectively killed the game, as did a couple of HUGE bugs that allowed insta level maxing with no high end content. Darn I still miss it.....
Not cancelled. Got official comment on it at GDC.
Ah, I did not think so either and would be dissapointed. I hate it when these games get cancelled.
You say that as though it is somehow worse than having a token crafting system that has no depth whatsoever and is a nuisance to deal with, which seems to be the more common model.
The Ultima series had how many games? 10? 9? something like that......You'd think they would have made a 2nd UO but maybe they thought the expansions were enough.......
The Ultima series had how many games? 10? 9? something like that......You'd think they would have made a 2nd UO but maybe they thought the expansions were enough.......
Not quite sure on this, but I believe you are thinking of the single-player Ultima series, I have a few of the games, and I have not heard anything about UO having any more than just it.
I so would have done:
You obviously didn't read the whole post. Star Trek Online is on that list
Go Prepeptual Entertainment! 2 out of 5....major fail lol
or maybe, I dunno, he was listing the 5 MMOs he liked that never were.
fail for you.
The event was August 2003 if I recall. It was early 2004 when Origin was shut down and summer 2004 when the game was canceled. The studio closing was a bit of a surprise to us as well.
It's nice to see people still remember UXO. Now you've got me all nostalgic too!
(also, I noticed in my profile that my title still says UXO dev - since that's not the case, could I get it changed to just "Developer" for now, thanks!)
We'll make the swap (edit: someone already has it seems!)
Funny that little event is so well remembered. That was my first assignment back in the day too, I was with IGN. The first time anyone let me go travel for games, hehe. Tiny word, but the game did look like a lot of fun.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Gods and Heroes... /le sigh
I was fortunate enough to be in the beta for that game and was very very disappointed when it closed. I still have hopes that some development team will buy the rights and let that game see the light of day. I think it would have been a really nice MMO that would have been a lot of fun.
My personal favorite cancelled project was EA's Battletech MMO. I still think the concept would work if developed by professionals.
I admit to a bit of fanboyism though, as Battletech and Warhammer 40K are the two settings I want to see a game in, and done well. Warhammer Fantasy has failed the "done well" test, so I don't have much hope of seeing the others for years, if ever.
Avatars are people too
I was so bummed when Ultima X was cancelled. And then double bummed when Ultima Online 2 was canned. I hope Blizzard has the forethought to make WoW 2 before WoW fades to nothing like the original trio of MMOs. I'll settle for Diablo 3 though
/mourn UXO and Wish
We were so psyched for UXO. I was following it very closely with a pal of mine who had enjoyed the original UO. Personally I never got to see the game, so I was very much looking forward to UXO.
Wish was a mixed bag, but ultimately promising. I enjoyed being in the beta. The UI definitely needed a lot of love, but getting beyond that showed a MMO with huge promise; promise that it likely could have met.
I played wish and it was fine. It is surprising Dragon Empires didn't make that list.
I can tell you with authority as I had an inside sources in Mutable Realms - Wish was canceled due to lack of interest from the potential subscribers. Not enough people signed up for the beta. Those people who were invited into the beta didn't stick around long, - some only played a couple of days. I think the writing was on the wall. If people wouldn't play for free, they wouldn't pay to play. While promising, it didn't have the word of mouth buzz and hype needed to get a large number of people to come and try it. It was determined the game would likely not be profitable, and the plug was pulled.
"Also, come on, it was Romans... it was Space... it was Sci-Fi. Romans with big freaking space guns."
I remember reading about Imperator, had played DAoC so was very interested in seeing the next Mythic MMO at the time. Still, I couldn't help but think "Didn't Warhammer 40k already do that?". Even the screenshots of this game could be mistaken for a 40k game, those centurions are wearing power-armor!!
To be fair, only space marines can be considered interstellar romans. Imperial guard models seem to either be inspired by U.S. army forces circa Vietnam or Soviets.
kept this for some reason -
There once was a thief of great cunning,
Whose exploits were beyond merely stunning,
He amassed his great wealth,
By the application of stealth,
Backed up by no small skill in running!
-credit: 10/02 Dragon Empires limerick winner Justin Elliot
Must be nice to have sources on the inside... Turns out, I was actually on the dev team for that one when it was cancelled and I don't recall getting a reason.
I don't remember exactly how many people signed up for beta, but I DO know that it was quite a large number for an indie company at the time, and I remember that people were pretty pleased with it
Guess your sources must have been better than mine. In the office I worked in. I'm not saying that wasn't the reason, I'm just saying.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Must be nice to have sources on the inside... Turns out, I was actually on the dev team for that one when it was cancelled and I don't recall getting a reason.
I don't remember exactly how many people signed up for beta, but I DO know that it was quite a large number for an indie company at the time, and I remember that people were pretty pleased with it
Guess your sources must have been better than mine. In the office I worked in. I'm not saying that wasn't the reason, I'm just saying.
I don't believe him either. There seemed to be many players when I was on. Maybe that was some kind of ultra realistic AI mobs?!
was richard garriot involved with UO2 before it was canned?
gamertag - Swaffle House
Good read, thank you.
The list needs Middle Earth Online. It technically is the same game as LotRO with a name change, but LotRO is basically the NGE version of the awesome game that MEO could have been. LotRO sucks in comparison.
Darkfall Travelogues!
I have to agree that the "sandbox" version of Middle Earth and Imperator would top my list as well...
I'd also be curious to see a "worst post-launch decisions/direction change" run down...my personal pick would be the SWG->NGE thing of course, followed closely by DAoC->Trials of Atlantis...but I am sure there are others.
ToA would have to fight a battle against /level 20. Arguably, /level was far more desctructive to the game than ToA.
Darkfall Travelogues!