Originally posted by Saranth I think the Farscape world or even Joss Whedon's Firefly/Serenity world would be interesting for an MMO. While both are Sci-Fi, either are very rich universes. An even wilder idea might be the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, or Doctor Who.
I forgot Firefly. One of my favorite settings, I would kill to see this happen. I also hope to see more on the Big Screen.
EQII and Asheron's Call II weren't failures because they were sequals, they failed because they either sucked or were too one dimensional. Mythic needs to focus on getting Warhammer Online out and making it the most innovative PvP MMO to date. You aren't going to beat WoW at the PvE raid game. Learn from your past mistakes Mythic, WoW is a paper tiger, it keeps building it's subscriber base because it has no competition. Go read the WoW PvP boards, the general forum, etc. Give them what they desire and what WoW ISN'T, and you've got a hit on your hands.
UO2? They were on the right track a number of years ago with UO2 (around the time that ultima 9 came out there were a good number of screenshots etc). The thing is with EA, maybe because of their 2 failures or not I dont know, they did not want to alienate their current subscriber base with a vastly different engine and gamestyle.
Also, where UO is concerned there are still a good number of die-hards there playing that game but the Ultima has never really existed in Ultima Online. I know myself and a large number of the original fans of the IP were sorely let down with the direction that the game took under Koster's direction. EA may own Origin, but they don't have Richard Garriott anymore and he (along with his brother and Star Long) are the heart of Ultima. All of them now work with NCSoft so any ultima title that might come out of EA will be sorely lacking and most likely a huge disappointment regardless of how good the folks at mythic are.
Now, when they took Origin there were a number of other IP's that came along in the package. Crusader, BioForge, Autoduel, Wing Commander and Privateer. I believe any of those could make for an excellent background on which to establish a new mmo from, if those titles arent too old now and unfamiliar to the majority of gamers today.
Ok lets delve into the realm of a controversial MMO ideas..
Grand Theft Auto Online - the controversial game sold big time.
Religon War Online - The final straw has been broken between the factions of the world. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Hindus, etc. Throw em all in there! Make it a sci fi fantasy genre. The major religons follow their prophets (who may be beings from advanced civilizations who desire world dominance in the guise of religon) and set all the faiths upon each other. Mix up some military strategy, faith based powers, evolutionary traits like telepathy and psionics, ancient wiccan lores and who knows what else?
Take some heat and pump out a mmorpg like that and no doubt the rewards will come with it!
Originally posted by GungaDin ULTIMA ONLINE 2. Simple as that. The amount of Veterans returning plus the player base in UO 1 would make the game an easy success. I would like MMORPG.com to put up a poll, Who would try Ultima Online 2 if it was made and released. I think the numbers selecting Yes would be staggering. And guess what, if they kept the overall graphics 2D but better, say like a Diablo 2 engine..... it still would rule. Remember, a game with an easier graphics engine would allow for more people to run the game and cause less lag. Everything does not have to be 3D with super graphics. Just a good idea with a solid concept. I know EA is afraid that UO2 would bomb, but a shot never taken is a goal never scored. I think Wayne Gretzky's father said that I've played no MMORPG since DEC 2006, I'm wating for my next Ultima Online, and I think many are too.
You are one of the very first to get a glimpse of a reborn Ultima Online. We won't be releasing more details for a bit, but we do want to let you know a few things:
We are completely re-building the Ultima Online client with new graphics and a new easier-to-use interface.
It is an in-place upgrade. That means you will be able to keep your characters, items, houses and everything else you've earned over the past nine years.
We are committed to maintaining extremely low system specs. They will be higher than what UO launched with in 1997, but will still be far lower than almost any other MMORPG on the market.
The launch will happen in 2007.
There are many, many more surprises in store.
The Ultima Online development team has been working hard for the past eight months to make real the vision of a thriving, vibrant Ultima Online. We are proud to finally let you in on our secret. Look for a full announcement soon.
I know you probably have lots of questions. Before this year ends, we will answer just about all of them, so keep watching www.uo.com.
Originally posted by LordDraekon Ultima X Odyssey had real promise before they shelved the game. It was shaping up to be a decent competitor for WOW. They could do worse than blowing the dust off an already started project.
Yeah, and what makes me really sad is that i actually won a full beta account for Ultima X Odyssey over at the MMORPGdot.com website. Then they cancelled the game. My luck.
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
As far as what Dana wants, I have my ideas on what they may pursue.
I think that EA will pursue a space combat/trading sim. They actually have a deep history in it in terms of single player and multiplayer, not only with Wing Commander, but also Starflight, and the afforementioned Earth & Beyond.
As far as other properties, maybe a Black & White MMO.
But the biggest thing is that EA has some of the most creative folks in the history of computer gaming in their stable. Sid Meier. Wil Wright. Almost everybody has worked at or with EA at one time or another. If they aren't, they can get them.
The best thing EA can do, in my opinion, is get Richard Bartle, give him all the money, time, and people he needs, and have him churn out his opus, which will be the greatest game of all time.
Hey, I can dream, right?
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
EnB was a great game and the only reason it flopped was because EA didn't want to continue investing in the mmo genre. I don't know where Dana is getting this info from but as far as I can see it there is still a huge fan base of former EnB players who would gladly switch from their current online games back to EnB.
There has been numerous attempts at trying to bring it back in some shape or form since the sunset but despite the efforts EA just doesn't seem to want to see the potential this game still has for the online community.
It would be pretty epic if Mythic managed to make Knights of the Old Republic Online, aka, what SWG should have been. Not only do you have an excuse for lots of Jedi (unlike in SWG) as there were a lot of them before the 'mandelorian wars' plus the fact that KOTRO is canon, but not much is written at that time (afaik). You could also have the Jedi civil war for pvp, or the Great Sith Wars etc.
Mind you they'd have to steal/beg for the license from Sony/Lucas Arts and that would be quite a challenge.
Earth and Beyond was not a failure for EA, EA failed Earth and Beyond !
Advertisement, support for the customers and the proper hardware to run a MMORPG is what went wrong with Earth and Beyond. If EA advertised as much as it does for MADDEN games for Earth and Beyond the game would jump out of the gate running. And lets face it not everyone likes sports game, Driving games, Space games or Wacking rats with Maces (World of Warcraft etc...)
I do know this I have played Vendetta, SWG, Space Cowboy, EVE and World of Warcraft there are thousands of players that could go into the millions that want to play Earth and Beyond again and there are probably another few thousand that want to see what the Hype is about ?
E&B not returning is the last thing that anyone that has been actively trying to convince EA to bring it back wants to hear. I'm sorry your Editorial is off base concerning Earth and Beyond. Their servers just could not handle the increasing player base the complaints got more and more numerious, the lag and the stuck players got worse, they saw no point in advertising for a game they could not manage Pure and simple.
With the big announcement of all the EA titles that EA will no longer support, its obvious that EA is unwilling to commint to any game that has a long term commitment attached to it.
"Make it, release it, milk it, then kick it" seems to be the phylosophy behing the EA corperate mind. This does not set well for people that buy your titles. If EA is unwilling to commit to their products, then stop releasing them. Plain and simple.
I continue to not support EA, only because EA doesn't support their customers. Bad business is what I think about when I think of EA.
Why not reopen E&B. Just send the materials over to EA Mythic or Gametap and let them deal with it. At least you will make some money from a product that you allready have, that is not doing anything. If not, whats the harm in contacting someone from one of the fan sites that are still active, and just give the game away. Whats the harm in that. Let us play again.
Oh well, I'll just have to wait for the possibility of an emulator in the near future! To EA .. I have no idea how you guys can make so much money with bad business. If I ran my business with this kind of direction, I think that I would be out of business real fast.
I to would like to see Earth and Beyond return, with Mythic or Gametap it matters not. I would leave the game that I am currently playing in a heartbeat.
EA Mythic should really concider bringing back Earth and Beyond. There were thousands of us that enjoyed that MMO just the way it was .. and quite frankly, I really don't see why EA wouldn't do this. It would be another title under their wing. Mythic is well equiped to handle such a game, and could make good money with something that thousands want back, and basically, all they have to do is plug the game in, and wait and see what happens.
Like someone said, E&B didn't fail, its EA that failed E&B. Why did the C&C series so successful under Westwood, and as soon as EA released C&C Generals, it was the worst in the series. E&B was released, and quickly shut down. E&B was live for 2 years, and it took five years to build.
It is my belief that all EA wanted was the Westwood team, materials, and the E&B engine so they can build UXO. And even that, UXO never made it out of Alpha testing. The Westwood titles ALL failed after EA took them over. Makes you wonder. Now, there isn't even a trace of Westwood ... and it was my favorite gaming developer.
EA Mythic has alot of talent involved there. I saw some screen shots of the new Ultima, and its looking nice ... I still wouldn't play it though. How many titles do we need that is Fantasy based ... Ever Quest, EQ2, WOW, FFXI, LineageII, Ultima Online .. Guild Wars .. I mean, the market is plagued with Fantasy MMOs. Just look over to the left and see how many titles are Fantasy ... 3/4 of them at least, if not more.
E&B is definately different. I play CoH/CoV BECAUSE its different. I'm waiting for STO .. but I'd gladly give them all up for E&B.
The issue of Earth & Beyond wasn't that it "sucked" and failed due to that, it is because EA didn't support it. I beta tested it and when I went to buy it the clerk didn't know about it, there were no posters or cardboard ads for it, nothing. I read a lot of gaming magazines and didn't see many ads for it in there either.
A MMOG can't make money if a lot of people don't know about it. The old expression "you need to spend money to make money" applies here. EA simply didn't try hard at all with Earth & Beyond, almost like they were half-hearted about the idea to begin with and were just humoring Westwood.
If they did E&B 2, with marketing support, it would be a profitable game as many people are getting burned out by the bazillion tradition fantasy MMOG's out there now. The hardcore PvP nature of EVE is what is keeping away many american gamers, so something like E&B would do nicely I believe.
Personally I think EA is just absorbing another smaller company to add to its greater whole. Just like they did with Westwood, Origin and countless others. If DAoC doesn't get numbers EA likes I have no doubts they will can it and not lose a second sleep over it.
I'm with DrowNoble - I've seen EA attempt to absorb many, many companies. Naming EA Mythic head of their MMORPG department isn't necessarily saying, "Mythic is in charge of their MMO's" No, Mythic is in charge of maintaining them, but should EA decide that something is costing them more money than making them more money, there isn't a doubt in my mind they'd can DAoC. Think about it - would they get rid of UO (probably over 85,000 accounts active to date) or would they get rid of DAoC? (25,000 - 30,000 accounts at MOST)
I never did play Earth and Beyond, nor did I even know what it was up to this post. Shows how well EA supported it, hmm?
I don't really know if it would either work or anything, but what you think of pen & paper RPG's like Shadowrun or even White Wolf RPG gothic-doomed-world turned into MMOs?
I'm pretty sure this was already discuss elsewhere but as EA got the money (and Mythic and/or other teams of Dev. expertise) and the will to be such an entrepreneur then who knows?
Who can say it isn't possible, it can exceed our expectations or turn out a total lack of time/money/talent?
Anyway I could not think of better (maybe I lack of imagination right now but their's so many games out there - hard to figure what can be done next) ideas for EA, or any other game producer, to make new or improved MMO games.
I really would love too see UO2 but in the hands of EA its has no chance. They will make it a skill less game aimed at the masses as per usual. The power behind UO was it relied on th skill of the player; something WoW has got wrong in its PvP as well.
I have to say, I would be most happy with either a new or updated space mmo or a UO 2 type game. I most definitely agree that EvE needs competition and we need MORE mmo diversity! A company churning out a high-end, well thought-out and put together space exploration/combat (pvp & some AI)/trading mmo would most likely end up with a helluva hit on their hands. Especially if they went a step further and included FPS PVPing when one was on one of the many planets or on a space station (or even in a colony/city/etc.). I mean, who doesn't love exploring deep space, taking out other players' ships, starting a space-bar fight and/or smuggling supplies to warring planets?
Alternately, it's obvious the majority of mmo fans are still interested in fantasy games (hence the majority of mmo titles being fantasy), although as time goes on this continues to change. On that note, UO 2! I know there are mixed feelings about it and all. However, if they did go for a full 3D engine it could be very very enjoyable. If they would do that and, at the same time, bring some actual skill-based PVP to a 3D engine, while keeping the original ideas/concepts intact, I believe many a UO veteran and those yet to discover the world of Brittania would have even more years to come of kickass gaming!
I admittedly long for the day to be chopping wood in a mist-covered forest, possibly outside Yew, when a testosterone-filled PKer rushes up on his nightmare and initiates PVP with me, without my consent. Or to wake up earlier (or stay up later) than I need to just to be one of hundreds of people trying to snatch a rare to add to my ever-growing collection! Long live potted plants and fruit baskets!
Originally posted by Phorlaug Earth and Beyond was not a failure for EA, EA failed Earth and Beyond ! Advertisement, support for the customers and the proper hardware to run a MMORPG is what went wrong with Earth and Beyond. If EA advertised as much as it does for MADDEN games for Earth and Beyond the game would jump out of the gate running. And lets face it not everyone likes sports game, Driving games, Space games or Wacking rats with Maces (World of Warcraft etc...) I do know this I have played Vendetta, SWG, Space Cowboy, EVE and World of Warcraft there are thousands of players that could go into the millions that want to play Earth and Beyond again and there are probably another few thousand that want to see what the Hype is about ? E&B not returning is the last thing that anyone that has been actively trying to convince EA to bring it back wants to hear. I'm sorry your Editorial is off base concerning Earth and Beyond. Their servers just could not handle the increasing player base the complaints got more and more numerious, the lag and the stuck players got worse, they saw no point in advertising for a game they could not manage Pure and simple.
With the big announcement of all the EA titles that EA will no longer support, its obvious that EA is unwilling to commint to any game that has a long term commitment attached to it.
"Make it, release it, milk it, then kick it" seems to be the phylosophy behing the EA corperate mind. This does not set well for people that buy your titles. If EA is unwilling to commit to their products, then stop releasing them. Plain and simple.
I continue to not support EA, only because EA doesn't support their customers. Bad business is what I think about when I think of EA.
Why not reopen E&B. Just send the materials over to EA Mythic or Gametap and let them deal with it. At least you will make some money from a product that you allready have, that is not doing anything. If not, whats the harm in contacting someone from one of the fan sites that are still active, and just give the game away. Whats the harm in that. Let us play again.
Oh well, I'll just have to wait for the possibility of an emulator in the near future! To EA .. I have no idea how you guys can make so much money with bad business. If I ran my business with this kind of direction, I think that I would be out of business real fast.
EARTH AND BEYOND WILL LIVE ! Phorlaug.............
I totaly agree here. EA and the guy that said Earth & Beyond was a failure, Need to get the facts straight. If your a game company..And you have a product to sell. You need to advertise the dam game. What makes me mad is, that EA spends so much money on EA sports ads. You can't go anywhere without seeing one. So did they do that for Earth & Beyond? of course not. They didn't care about the game. It was just part of the Westwood takeover to them. I feel really sorry for Mythic. They made a deal with the devel and there's no backing out of it.
Comments
Happy to see UO2 or any Sci-Fi MMO reborn... but with Mythic game design muscle.. nothing is impossible..
All canceled. Waiting on Warhammer Online : Age of Reckoning.
Also, where UO is concerned there are still a good number of die-hards there playing that game but the Ultima has never really existed in Ultima Online. I know myself and a large number of the original fans of the IP were sorely let down with the direction that the game took under Koster's direction. EA may own Origin, but they don't have Richard Garriott anymore and he (along with his brother and Star Long) are the heart of Ultima. All of them now work with NCSoft so any ultima title that might come out of EA will be sorely lacking and most likely a huge disappointment regardless of how good the folks at mythic are.
Now, when they took Origin there were a number of other IP's that came along in the package. Crusader, BioForge, Autoduel, Wing Commander and Privateer. I believe any of those could make for an excellent background on which to establish a new mmo from, if those titles arent too old now and unfamiliar to the majority of gamers today.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
Ok lets delve into the realm of a controversial MMO ideas..
Grand Theft Auto Online - the controversial game sold big time.
Religon War Online - The final straw has been broken between the factions of the world. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Hindus, etc. Throw em all in there! Make it a sci fi fantasy genre. The major religons follow their prophets (who may be beings from advanced civilizations who desire world dominance in the guise of religon) and set all the faiths upon each other. Mix up some military strategy, faith based powers, evolutionary traits like telepathy and psionics, ancient wiccan lores and who knows what else?
Take some heat and pump out a mmorpg like that and no doubt the rewards will come with it!
Congratulations!
You are one of the very first to get a glimpse of a reborn Ultima Online. We won't be releasing more details for a bit, but we do want to let you know a few things:
- We are completely re-building the Ultima Online client with new graphics and a new easier-to-use interface.
- It
- We are committed to maintaining extremely low system
- The launch will happen in 2007.
- There are many, many more surprises in store.
The Ultima Online development teamis an in-place upgrade. That means you will be able to keep your
characters, items, houses and everything else you've earned over the
past nine years.
specs. They will be higher than what UO launched with in 1997, but will
still be far lower than almost any other MMORPG on the market.
has been working hard for the past eight months to make real the vision
of a thriving, vibrant Ultima Online. We are proud to finally let you
in on our secret. Look for a full announcement soon.
I know you probably have lots of questions. Before this year ends, we will answer just about all of them, so keep watching www.uo.com.
Aaron "Darkscribe" Cohen
Producer - Ultima Online
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
As far as what Dana wants, I have my ideas on what they may pursue.
I think that EA will pursue a space combat/trading sim. They actually have a deep history in it in terms of single player and multiplayer, not only with Wing Commander, but also Starflight, and the afforementioned Earth & Beyond.
As far as other properties, maybe a Black & White MMO.
But the biggest thing is that EA has some of the most creative folks in the history of computer gaming in their stable. Sid Meier. Wil Wright. Almost everybody has worked at or with EA at one time or another. If they aren't, they can get them.
The best thing EA can do, in my opinion, is get Richard Bartle, give him all the money, time, and people he needs, and have him churn out his opus, which will be the greatest game of all time.
Hey, I can dream, right?
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
"I've played no MMORPG since DEC 2006"
??????????
There has been numerous attempts at trying to bring it back in some shape or form since the sunset but despite the efforts EA just doesn't seem to want to see the potential this game still has for the online community.
Mind you they'd have to steal/beg for the license from Sony/Lucas Arts and that would be quite a challenge.
Earth and Beyond was not a failure for EA, EA failed Earth and Beyond !
Advertisement, support for the customers and the proper hardware to run a MMORPG is what went wrong with Earth and Beyond. If EA advertised as much as it does for MADDEN games for Earth and Beyond the game would jump out of the gate running. And lets face it not everyone likes sports game, Driving games, Space games or Wacking rats with Maces (World of Warcraft etc...)
I do know this I have played Vendetta, SWG, Space Cowboy, EVE and World of Warcraft there are thousands of players that could go into the millions that want to play Earth and Beyond again and there are probably another few thousand that want to see what the Hype is about ?
E&B not returning is the last thing that anyone that has been actively trying to convince EA to bring it back wants to hear. I'm sorry your Editorial is off base concerning Earth and Beyond. Their servers just could not handle the increasing player base the complaints got more and more numerious, the lag and the stuck players got worse, they saw no point in advertising for a game they could not manage Pure and simple.
With the big announcement of all the EA titles that EA will no longer support, its obvious that EA is unwilling to commint to any game that has a long term commitment attached to it.
"Make it, release it, milk it, then kick it" seems to be the phylosophy behing the EA corperate mind. This does not set well for people that buy your titles. If EA is unwilling to commit to their products, then stop releasing them. Plain and simple.
I continue to not support EA, only because EA doesn't support their customers. Bad business is what I think about when I think of EA.
Why not reopen E&B. Just send the materials over to EA Mythic or Gametap and let them deal with it. At least you will make some money from a product that you allready have, that is not doing anything. If not, whats the harm in contacting someone from one of the fan sites that are still active, and just give the game away. Whats the harm in that. Let us play again.
Oh well, I'll just have to wait for the possibility of an emulator in the near future! To EA .. I have no idea how you guys can make so much money with bad business. If I ran my business with this kind of direction, I think that I would be out of business real fast.
EARTH AND BEYOND WILL LIVE !
Phorlaug.............
playing eq2 and two worlds
EA Mythic should really concider bringing back Earth and Beyond. There were thousands of us that enjoyed that MMO just the way it was .. and quite frankly, I really don't see why EA wouldn't do this. It would be another title under their wing. Mythic is well equiped to handle such a game, and could make good money with something that thousands want back, and basically, all they have to do is plug the game in, and wait and see what happens.
Like someone said, E&B didn't fail, its EA that failed E&B. Why did the C&C series so successful under Westwood, and as soon as EA released C&C Generals, it was the worst in the series. E&B was released, and quickly shut down. E&B was live for 2 years, and it took five years to build.
It is my belief that all EA wanted was the Westwood team, materials, and the E&B engine so they can build UXO. And even that, UXO never made it out of Alpha testing. The Westwood titles ALL failed after EA took them over. Makes you wonder. Now, there isn't even a trace of Westwood ... and it was my favorite gaming developer.
EA Mythic has alot of talent involved there. I saw some screen shots of the new Ultima, and its looking nice ... I still wouldn't play it though. How many titles do we need that is Fantasy based ... Ever Quest, EQ2, WOW, FFXI, LineageII, Ultima Online .. Guild Wars .. I mean, the market is plagued with Fantasy MMOs. Just look over to the left and see how many titles are Fantasy ... 3/4 of them at least, if not more.
E&B is definately different. I play CoH/CoV BECAUSE its different. I'm waiting for STO .. but I'd gladly give them all up for E&B.
Just my two cents!!
The issue of Earth & Beyond wasn't that it "sucked" and failed due to that, it is because EA didn't support it. I beta tested it and when I went to buy it the clerk didn't know about it, there were no posters or cardboard ads for it, nothing. I read a lot of gaming magazines and didn't see many ads for it in there either.
A MMOG can't make money if a lot of people don't know about it. The old expression "you need to spend money to make money" applies here. EA simply didn't try hard at all with Earth & Beyond, almost like they were half-hearted about the idea to begin with and were just humoring Westwood.
If they did E&B 2, with marketing support, it would be a profitable game as many people are getting burned out by the bazillion tradition fantasy MMOG's out there now. The hardcore PvP nature of EVE is what is keeping away many american gamers, so something like E&B would do nicely I believe.
Personally I think EA is just absorbing another smaller company to add to its greater whole. Just like they did with Westwood, Origin and countless others. If DAoC doesn't get numbers EA likes I have no doubts they will can it and not lose a second sleep over it.
I'm with DrowNoble - I've seen EA attempt to absorb many, many companies. Naming EA Mythic head of their MMORPG department isn't necessarily saying, "Mythic is in charge of their MMO's" No, Mythic is in charge of maintaining them, but should EA decide that something is costing them more money than making them more money, there isn't a doubt in my mind they'd can DAoC. Think about it - would they get rid of UO (probably over 85,000 accounts active to date) or would they get rid of DAoC? (25,000 - 30,000 accounts at MOST)
I never did play Earth and Beyond, nor did I even know what it was up to this post. Shows how well EA supported it, hmm?
I don't really know if it would either work or anything, but what you think of pen & paper RPG's like Shadowrun or even White Wolf RPG gothic-doomed-world turned into MMOs?
I'm pretty sure this was already discuss elsewhere but as EA got the money (and Mythic and/or other teams of Dev. expertise) and the will to be such an entrepreneur then who knows?
Who can say it isn't possible, it can exceed our expectations or turn out a total lack of time/money/talent?
Anyway I could not think of better (maybe I lack of imagination right now but their's so many games out there - hard to figure what can be done next) ideas for EA, or any other game producer, to make new or improved MMO games.
I have to say, I would be most happy with either a new or updated space mmo or a UO 2 type game. I most definitely agree that EvE needs competition and we need MORE mmo diversity! A company churning out a high-end, well thought-out and put together space exploration/combat (pvp & some AI)/trading mmo would most likely end up with a helluva hit on their hands. Especially if they went a step further and included FPS PVPing when one was on one of the many planets or on a space station (or even in a colony/city/etc.). I mean, who doesn't love exploring deep space, taking out other players' ships, starting a space-bar fight and/or smuggling supplies to warring planets?
Alternately, it's obvious the majority of mmo fans are still interested in fantasy games (hence the majority of mmo titles being fantasy), although as time goes on this continues to change. On that note, UO 2! I know there are mixed feelings about it and all. However, if they did go for a full 3D engine it could be very very enjoyable. If they would do that and, at the same time, bring some actual skill-based PVP to a 3D engine, while keeping the original ideas/concepts intact, I believe many a UO veteran and those yet to discover the world of Brittania would have even more years to come of kickass gaming!
I admittedly long for the day to be chopping wood in a mist-covered forest, possibly outside Yew, when a testosterone-filled PKer rushes up on his nightmare and initiates PVP with me, without my consent. Or to wake up earlier (or stay up later) than I need to just to be one of hundreds of people trying to snatch a rare to add to my ever-growing collection! Long live potted plants and fruit baskets!