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Ultima Online, why no sequel?
theBLANG
Member Posts: 26
I have heard so many people talk about Ultima Online--how great of a game it was, how it took MUDs to a whole new level, how it was the game that practically started the MMORPG genre. In fact, I can not recall ever hearing a negative comment towards UO. Why then has there not been a sequel?
-M-A-X--L-V-L--C-H-A-R-S-
-EQ: Exxar - 60 Wizard (Karana)
Quit - Scars of Velious
-DAOC: Sethir - 50 Bard (Percival)
Quit - Foundations
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They that can give up essential liberty for temporary safetey deserve neither. -- Ben Franklin
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. -- Milton Berle
There were 2 different sequels planned, but Origin canned the first one, EA the second one.
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Malianea
UXO was NOT a sequal to UO. It was a sequel to Ultima 9. UXO stands for Ultima X:Odyssey, X being 10 in roman numerals. But like the others said, EA cancelled them both (Origins actually cancelled UO2 but I tihnk EA gets the credit for it...) becuase they flet it would subtract players from UO. Even though UXO wasnt related in the SLIGHTEST to UO, and UO2 also had many differences.
It was canned because EA does not give two shits about their player base.
They destroyed Battlefield Vietnam, it went from a game with amazing potential to a blight on the BF name.
They canned UXO, I will eternally hate this for that.
I swear to god if they Ruin Battlefield 2, I will never buy another EA game as long as I live, and Ill ship it and BF:V back to them in a bag filled with dog poo.
Here is the last statement uttered by EA..."what they feel is best" idiots..
June 30, 2004
Dear Ultima X: Odyssey community members,
As of today, development on Ultima X: Odyssey has ended. We feel that Ultima Online is where we need to focus our online efforts and most of my team will be moving to the UO expansion pack, the UO live team, and an unannounced Ultima Online project. Development on UO will be greatly enhanced as we consolidate our resources behind that franchise.
This isn't an easy decision but its the right move for the future of all things Ultima, including the community and the team. We look forward to sharing our plans for the future of Ultima Online very soon.
I would like to thank all of the Ultima X: Odyssey supporters who have been with us from the beginning. I hope you will continue to support the Ultima franchise and the development team as they transition to new projects.
Thank you,
David "InQWis" Yee
Producer, Ultima X: Odyssey
Feel free to send Hate mail to "David "InQWis" Yee", we send him at least 1 spiteful email per week.
Ya, I remember him (Inqwis) saying how the game would be great and it would be shipped on time, and all this other BS, then all of a sudden he dissapears from the UXO boards. We were left in total silence. Then they got their "community rep" for UXO, which meant the UO community rep pretended to have a second job. He made a "hello" post and then told us the game is cancelled. I feel sorry for the original devs, they put so much great work into the game. I havent bought an EA game since then, and I dont plan to since most of their games suck.
contrary to popular belief. UO2 exists and is (more or less) healthy. The Dev team that was responsible of that project, especially its team leader, jumped board to SoE after Origin canned the process and created Star Wars: Galaxies!! That is, if not directly, Ultima Online 2.
UXO was, effectivly, the sequel to Ultima 9, but it did used the MMorpg system, so it was seen as a heir to Ultima Online itself. (that, storywise, is somewhere between ultima 2 and 3... or was it 1 and 2? don't remember exactly)
"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"
Based on the definition of sequel
* Something that follows; a continuation.
* A literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative continues that of a preexisting work.
Based on these concepts I believe the true nature of "sequel" in the MMOG world is the expansion pack. Each expansion pack is a continuation of the previous content. I do not believe you can correctly define a work a sequel if the first work is still ongoing.
For instance: EQ2 is not a sequel to EQ. While it occupies the same gaming world at a different point in time, it is simply another game that is leveraging the EverQuest brand name. It's a blurry line, because there is a sense of continuation of the broader story of Norrath. But since both worlds co-exist I do not believe one can be called a sequel to another.
As for the topic of UO, I believe OSI/EA made the right choice in killing its planned "sequels". I am disconcerted that they don't bring fully three-dimensional technology to Sosaria in the form of another concurrent client for the venerable UO. I am a firm believer in modernizing the content of these "persistent" worlds rather than abandoning them. You cannot buy the loyalty of a community, you must build it...and once it has evolved, it is a very valuable commodity.
In the same light, I think SOE is taking a big risk in splitting their game focus into multiple slices of the same brand. Ostensibly, EQ2 and EQ are very different games that may be seen to cater to different types of gamers. But in the end, the convergence of the two products is inevitable and one will feed off the other. SOE will mask this with their All Access account plan, and in that perspective they are already showing a more mature understanding of the emerging MMOG marketplace.
The one major exception to this, the true "sequel" MMOG that I am aware of, is A Tale in the Desert. Each 'tale' brings the previous version tale to a close, and each 'tale' reinvents itself in different technology/gameplay. There may be others with a similar sense of episodic content, but I am not aware of them.
UO is in between Ultima 1 and 2, the avatar had just killed Mondain and (i forget the name of the gem he had) smashed into the shards that were UO. Then Minax began her uprise in Britain.
-M-A-X--L-V-L--C-H-A-R-S-
-EQ: Exxar - 60 Wizard (Karana)
Quit - Scars of Velious
-DAOC: Sethir - 50 Bard (Percival)
Quit - Foundations
1. There have been TONS of negative comments about UO. Google "raph koster" then browse the links on his homesite until you find the "essays" links. But the positives outweigh the negatives.
2. Ultima is the most successful RPG computer game series in computer game history. This led to the RPG market. (The Bard's Tale series is tne 2nd most successful RPG series in computer game history. Then third, the Phatasie RPG series.) This led to the MMORPG market decades after Ultima 0 came out in the late 1970's. Meridian 59 is generally considered the first ever MMORPG, followed by The Realm Online. This is going by Raph Koster's comments in interviews with him. Ultima Online did make MMORPGs mainstream. It took MMORPGs from being a nitch market, to being a very profitable mainstream market. UO was also the reason why Smeadly did not get kicked out of Hidekie Idea's office (for the upteenth time) when he pitched EQ.
So technically UO is 100% responsible for EQ getting the go ahead, and getting created. (check out the article "Sorcerer of Sony" by Buisness 2.0 Magazine.
3. UO2 was created. Right before it was ready for Beta testing, the plug got pulled. It got cancelled due to gross missmanagement. The suits and ties flubbed it. More proof of how out of touch the suits and ties are is the fact they fired the creator of Ultima - Lord British.
4. There IS an unofficial sequel to UO. The one and only Star Wars Galaxies. The lead game programmer for UO, Raph Koster aka Designer Dragon, aka Holocron, went on to be the lead DEV for SWG. In addition, 95% of all the UO game DEVs went to SWG and helped make SWG. Some of them even went back to UO after making SWG.
5. SWG would be a perfect MMORPG if it did 2 things: a. Take out Jedi (Jedi have been poorly implimented.) b. Put in PvP for landcontrol. Right now there is no real reason to PvP.
SWG is still a fun MMORPG as long as one plays with the intention of NOT wanting to be a Jedi. UO is a medieval-themed, Skill Based, MMORPG. SWG is a futuristic/Sci-Fi themed, Skill Based MMORPG. SWG does have the best ever in game economy ever made, the best ever player housing game features (basements! balconies! hovels to mansions!), and far, far, more.... - a direct influence of what was planned for UO2.
Right now the most moronic, dumba--, suits and ties run UO, and its parent company Electronic Arts. They got rid of the guy who created Ultima. They have TWO mmorpg failures - UO2, and UXO. UXO was the saddest failure in MMORPG history. It was advertised as not being a MMORPG but a sequel to the stand alone game UO 9. Then MAKE it a stand alone game! I was yelling on the UXO forums LOLOL! When it got cancelled, they said it was because they didn't want it compeating vs UO! Stupidity! Oh yeah, they also bankrupted his stellar company Origin Systems Inc. (I think that's the full name). One of the best ever computer game making companies in history.