Please! For the love of Dog! Someone make UO v2!

Graveblade

It is certainly true to say there are developers out there with games "similar" to Ultima Online. Take Albion online for example, but there are things which are really not good ideas for a sandbox game. I long for a simple sandbox game (simple but with lots of sandbox elements, lots of CONTENT) and nice visuals like pillars of eternity or something similar.

Just some specific things I think would be better for sandbox games.

Less is more with sandbox games.

What I mean by this is lots of useless systems and game mechanics. A lot of new developers are trying to create intuitive combat systems etc... People still love runescape to this day and its not exactly complex, sandbox games are not specifically about the combat. I actually loved the simplicity of the systems, but large amount of content, for the various trade and combat skills in UO. If lots of development was just put into creating lots and lots of content to create LOTS of different trade skills and combat skills (like UO has parrying, anatomy, mace wielding, fencing, hand to hand, etc etc for combat and pottery, cartography, taming, alchemy etc etc) it would be better than putting development into fancy combat systems. Another example of a good sandbox game although not mmo... Terraria lots of content, simple systems.


Very simple UI.

No need for all the bullshit. I don't want to play a UI, I want to play my character.



Please no mini map and have a large scale world.

Especially with FFA pvp and full loot, if the world is very large scale and people don't actually know what is ahead, it makes for a much more personal adventure and less likely to always be hunted down and killed by people who outgun you or who are just roaming for kills in a group.

In Albion Online, one aspect of concern is the fact that groups are going to run around killing everyone, if you are not in a group/guild, you are screwed. UO was not like this generally and I think the reason is that the scale of the world (and where you would spawn and the fact there was not always just literally like 3 specific ways to get out of a city) and the fact there was no mini map, meant that there was a massive chance you would not actually be found and could adventure away solo if you wished.


Thoughts.

couponfork

Have you seen http://shardsonline.com/?

wrekognize

Linkrealms is very much like UO. Winter beta won't be until the beginning of January.

www.linkrealms.com

Kamikazego

Graveblade said:

In Albion Online, one aspect of concern is the fact that groups are going to run around killing everyone, if you are not in a group/guild, you are screwed. UO was not like this generally 

While I'm not a fan of the concept, UO was actually mainly like this before they updated the game to where Trammel and Felucia existed.  Prior to that, it was just Felucia and non-consensual PvP was a focus. A lot of people didn't like the change, actually.

Graveblade

Thanks for the links guys, maybe those games will deliver something similar to what I am talking about. Will keep an eye on them!

Graveblade

Kamikazego said:

Graveblade said:

In Albion Online, one aspect of concern is the fact that groups are going to run around killing everyone, if you are not in a group/guild, you are screwed. UO was not like this generally 

While I'm not a fan of the concept, UO was actually mainly like this before they updated the game to where Trammel and Felucia existed.  Prior to that, it was just Felucia and non-consensual PvP was a focus. A lot of people didn't like the change, actually.

Yes, people could certainly do this although pvpers would become murderers wouldn't they. The world was so large though that you could quite easily escape it as most of this kind of pvp was around specific areas by towns for example, or specific grind spots etc.

Loke666

couponfork said:

Have you seen http://shardsonline.com/?

Shards is hardly a simple copy of UO even if it is made by the same lead designer. Shards is very new thinking while OP is asking for a remake of an old concept.

Remaking old games is bad. Looking on what made the game fun and creating new mechanics that gives a similar effect on the other hand has potential but we need a new UO or SWG as much as we need a remake of Wow. Not at all, MMOs need to stop copy old games and create new things instead.

Graveblade

Loke666 said:

couponfork said:

Have you seen http://shardsonline.com/?

Shards is hardly a simple copy of UO even if it is made by the same lead designer. Shards is very new thinking while OP is asking for a remake of an old concept.

Remaking old games is bad. Looking on what made the game fun and creating new mechanics that gives a similar effect on the other hand has potential but we need a new UO or SWG as much as we need a remake of Wow. Not at all, MMOs need to stop copy old games and create new things instead.

I kind of agree and kind of don't. Some of the wow clones that came about back in the day were very good games, wow worked, people made games with the same concepts but different skins, but now of course it has become mega stale. That is the natural development of games. The same thing has happened for literally every genre in one way or another.

The thing I think some developers are missing with regards to a proper sandbox game like UO etc is that the point of them is NOT about creating new systems like action systems etc, its about simple concepts but TONS of content. When I say there should be UO v2, its not about creating Ultima online the skin, its about creating a game with very similar systems due to the fact it worked and I think no one has really successfully recreated it because they add too many other systems and over complicate it or make bad design decisions.


I think the original concept of UO is totally solid just like the concept for minecraft or Terraria is solid.
I see a sandbox game like UO in more the vain of chess. No one has ever complained that someone changed the shape and look of the pieces and the game itself of chess is played by hundreds of thousands to this day. 

 

Tokken

i would love a remake of UO with newer graphics. That's all, I like what it is already.  I would love to play a newer EQ with better graphics. That's all I need for a good game.

Graveblade

Tokken said:

i would love a remake of UO with newer graphics. That's all, I like what it is already.  I would love to play a newer EQ with better graphics. That's all I need for a good game.

Agree. When you say that to people a lot seem to say ah it is just nostalgia, and that if you played it now you would quit straight away. I honestly don't think that is true at all, the concept for the games were spot on, and that is why loads of people played them and still do, not just for the theme and graphical content of the games. 

It would certainly be nice to play UO with a fresh start and the graphics of pillars of eternity...

Aethaeryn

I always get nostalgic for UO, then I remember that I quit playing for DAoC. . and quit playing that for SWG. . then quit playing that etc. etc.

Thats why I don't think an exact duplicate would work or a close remake.  It needs the same feel and features but with some newer twists and lessons learned.

nariusseldon

Why would dev bother with a sequel of an ancient design that never went more than 250k sub? Even EQ brought in DOUBLE the subs and what happened to its sequel?

It is moot though. I would bet money EA would not bother.

Graveblade

nariusseldon said:

Why would dev bother with a sequel of an ancient design that never went more than 250k sub? Even EQ brought in DOUBLE the subs and what happened to its sequel?

It is moot though. I would bet money EA would not bother.

I don't think there is any problem with the design at all, it is solid. The 250k sub count is actually very high when you consider how little people actually played mmorpg back then. The ammount of people who game on pc and have the internet now is massive in comparison to back then.

Amaranthar

I loved UO, and still think it was the best MMORPG ever made for many, many reasons.
But one thing I hated was the rampant player abuse. I stayed for years in hopes they would do something right to fix it, but they never did. The they went to Trammel and that was that. I still played it for years later too.
But the rampant player abuses drove lots of in-game friends and guildmates away, and that was hard to watch.

Mendel

UO2 failed long, long ago.  The original poster is probably wishing for UO3.

BeansnBread

EQ actually got up to like 600k in its prime. Pretty astounding numbers pre-WoW.

Scorchien

Ive played UO for 17 years , None of those games are anything like UO at all , and yes i have tried them all extensivley ...

RIG4RED

Scorchien said:

Ive played UO for 17 years , None of those games are anything like UO at all , and yes i have tried them all extensivley ...

17 years? I played till AoS, which was great, but it was all downhill from there...

UO was a great game. A modern UO would be amazing.

Scorchien

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

Scorchien said:

Ive played UO for 17 years , None of those games are anything like UO at all , and yes i have tried them all extensivley ...

I doubt you have tried Shards. Since it's not "try-able" yet.

It is , i have since 12/3 i believe was the day ..................it isnt

goboygo

Even the guy that made UO cant do it.  SOTA is something else all together, its as if they have no idea what they want that game to be.  So I don't have an answer for you why no one has been able to pull it off.

madazz

Kamikazego said:

Graveblade said:

In Albion Online, one aspect of concern is the fact that groups are going to run around killing everyone, if you are not in a group/guild, you are screwed. UO was not like this generally 

While I'm not a fan of the concept, UO was actually mainly like this before they updated the game to where Trammel and Felucia existed.  Prior to that, it was just Felucia and non-consensual PvP was a focus. A lot of people didn't like the change, actually.

Im going to have to call you out on this one. You obviously are one of those people that read about it, maybe dabbled in it during the trammel era, or plain well just pretend you played it. I am a solo player for the most part. I like grouping up here and there. I take part and help guilds but remain mostly quiet, and mostly guildless while I level up. I traveled all around UO solo constantly. I usually had to deal with 1-2 people MAX trying to gank me when it did happen. More often then not, I joined up with people in dungeons and worked with them.

Non-consensual PvP was not a focus. Loot was a focus. People would work together (sometimes against) to get the best loot and rarest mounts. Then they would stand with a hundred+ people around brit bank and show off their new found stuff. PvP was a HUGE part of the game. It was A focus, but not the main one. Some players focused on this, but as someone who actually played UO pretrammel, more worked together than against. It made the world exciting cause you never knew if you were in danger or not. The world was so large you could always run and accomplish your goals nearly anywhere.

Also, Albion online is not like UO at all. I followed the game very, VERY early on and they advertised the game as the second coming of UO, a spiritual successor. This was before they even allowed backers. I backed the game. They then changed the game a TON and removed all their text comparing it to UO. The game is now a zone based game. Each zone opens up as you progress, like a standard MMORPG. Dungeons are private, like a standard MMORPG. You have private instances for your island/crafting/farming and home that are safe. Entire zones are safe, not just cities. You can skill up to be a jack of all trades, there is no limitations. You have to load between zones.

So thanks to those early references and the isometric view, people mistakenly think Albion could be an evolution of UO. When its actually a little isometric MMO that resembles a standard MMORPG rather than the sandbox that was UO.

Brenics

This is the one that may actually get close to what UO was. After all Lord British is making it.

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/

Graveblade

Brenics said:

This is the one that may actually get close to what UO was. After all Lord British is making it.

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/

It is going to be pretty different to UO generally, even though its being made by the same dude. It even has offline mode.

Shame he did not stick to his old IP... It would be a big risk to create UO2 but look at albion, it has many followers, there is obviously still interest in sandbox type games in the same vain as UO.

I bet a lot of people who loved the Ultima series and UO itself would of looked into a new Ultima Online based around what the old one was, but with a new engine.

Brenics

Graveblade said:

Brenics said:

This is the one that may actually get close to what UO was. After all Lord British is making it.

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/

It is going to be pretty different to UO generally, even though its being made by the same dude. It even has offline mode.

Shame he did not stick to his old IP... It would be a big risk to create UO2 but look at albion, it has many followers, there is obviously still interest in sandbox type games in the same vain as UO.

I bet a lot of people who loved the Ultima series and UO itself would of looked into a new Ultima Online based around what the old one was, but with a new engine.

I have to agree with you and do hope SOA does feel a little more like UO when playing online, also Albion could be closer to UO all we can do is wait and see what it looks like at release for both games. It could be an interesting new year coming in 2016 for gamer's, more so for us old dudes.