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General: The Five Longest Running MMOs

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  • GreyedGreyed Member UncommonPosts: 137


    Originally posted by Morv

    I'm utterly shocked that you didn't put Ultima Online on there. Which is essentially the first popular graphical MMORPG ever.

    I'm utterly shocked that you didn't notice that...

    a: all the games on the list predated UO.
    b: the list was the 5 longest running MMOs, not the 5 most popular old MMOs
    c: that in the 5 pages prior to your post UO was mentioned several times and the reason why it wasn't included was also mentioned several times.

    *facepalm*

    Not just another pretty color.

  • MorvMorv Member UncommonPosts: 331

    Originally posted by Greyed


     




    Originally posted by Morv



    I'm utterly shocked that you didn't put Ultima Online on there. Which is essentially the first popular graphical MMORPG ever.





    I'm utterly shocked that you didn't notice that...


    a: all the games on the list predated UO.

    b: the list was the 5 longest running MMOs, not the 5 most popular old MMOs

    c: that in the 5 pages prior to your post UO was mentioned several times and the reason why it wasn't included was also mentioned several times.


    *facepalm*


    a. The games that predated UO were not popular. That is important.


    b. Yes, UO was the most popular at that time, that's really all that's important unless you're foolish enough to believe that just because someone threw together an online game called it an "MMO" and claimed it was the first that it has some merit in the world. I could give a rats ass about The Realm, as far as I'm concerned it doesn't fit the bill of even being an MMO simply because there's nothing in it that is persistent except for landscape. UO was the first MMORPG that incorporated long popular games such as MUDs. and if you want to get technical, DikuMUD was actually the first MMO back in 1991. He didn't say anything about them having to be graphical. Go fish somewhere else.


    c. I don't give a rats ass how many times someone else mentioned why it wasn't included, it's wrong. UO is a classic and should be on any historical MMO reference regarding length of time active, first MMO to incorporate true persistance, first *popular* graphical *MUD*, etc. the list goes on. To not include it is simply foolish.


    *facepalm* yourself pal.


     


    *edit* Additionally, MUDs incorporated persistent elements such as dropping items on the ground and that item would remain even after the player logged off. The first *graphical* online game to do the same was Ultima Online. The rest, well sorry  to break it to you but as far as I'm concerned those are not really MMOs... They didn't incorporate features from the original pioneers of online games, MUDs and the creativity and innovation that came from them. People have completely forgotten what an MMORPG is and how it was defined ten years ago. Just because someone slapped something together and called in an MMORPG doesn't make it an MMORPG. My favorite example, World of Warcraft, is NOT an MMORPG, it is merely an Online Game.

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726

    I agree with Morv, trying to imply that games no one has every heard were MMO's and preceded UO is a hilarious joke.

  • ThandrasThandras Member Posts: 41

    Originally posted by Morv

    Originally posted by Greyed

     




    Originally posted by Morv



    I'm utterly shocked that you didn't put Ultima Online on there. Which is essentially the first popular graphical MMORPG ever.




    I'm utterly shocked that you didn't notice that...

    a: all the games on the list predated UO.

    b: the list was the 5 longest running MMOs, not the 5 most popular old MMOs

    c: that in the 5 pages prior to your post UO was mentioned several times and the reason why it wasn't included was also mentioned several times.

    *facepalm*

    a. The games that predated UO were not popular. That is important.

    b. Yes, UO was the most popular at that time, that's really all that's important unless you're foolish enough to believe that just because someone threw together an online game called it an "MMO" and claimed it was the first that it has some merit in the world. I could give a rats ass about The Realm, as far as I'm concerned it doesn't fit the bill of even being an MMO simply because there's nothing in it that is persistent except for landscape. UO was the first MMORPG that incorporated long popular games such as MUDs. and if you want to get technical, DikuMUD was actually the first MMO back in 1991. He didn't say anything about them having to be graphical. Go fish somewhere else.

    c. I don't give a rats ass how many times someone else mentioned why it wasn't included, it's wrong. UO is a classic and should be on any historical MMO reference regarding length of time active, first MMO to incorporate true persistance, first *popular* graphical *MUD*, etc. the list goes on. To not include it is simply foolish.

    *facepalm* yourself pal.

     

    *edit* Additionally, MUDs incorporated persistent elements such as dropping items on the ground and that item would remain even after the player logged off. The first *graphical* online game to do the same was Ultima Online. The rest, well sorry  to break it to you but as far as I'm concerned those are not really MMOs... They didn't incorporate features from the original pioneers of online games, MUDs and the creativity and innovation that came from them. People have completely forgotten what an MMORPG is and how it was defined ten years ago. Just because someone slapped something together and called in an MMORPG doesn't make it an MMORPG. My favorite example, World of Warcraft, is NOT an MMORPG, it is merely an Online Game.

     LOL, someone give Morv his ritalin please or maybe his depakote... better yet a xanax.

    How much you wanna bet he "doesn't give a rat's ass" about what I think of his post but my drink almost shot out of my nose when I read it. :)

  • chocobochickchocobochick Member Posts: 8

    Popularity is all fine and dandy, but one of the major fallacies of depending upon that argument here is that the Internet itself wasn't quite as popular yet when these games were being designed. Internet connections were often slow, tied up the phone line, could drop easily, were susceptible to frequent waits and busy signals during peak access times, and were paid for by the hour. I was only able to feasibly play The Realm because I lived in one of the few college dorms on campus that had been newly renovated with unlimited ethernet access.

    So just because a game didn't pump out the subscription numbers of subsequent games doesn't mean it wasn't a landmark in Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming history.

  • rangharranghar Member UncommonPosts: 145

    Played them all at release, and dont miss the gameplay at all. I have to admit that I do miss the communities from those games though. Gaming communities(the majority) now, compared to those back then, are significantly less mature, and filled with people acting like sociopaths. Some games have better communities than others, but the WoW community makes me never want to play a mmorpg again.

    Ranghar LoD
    Lords of Death

  • LetsinodLetsinod Member UncommonPosts: 385

    All those games had 10x the gameplay and communities that anything made nowdays does.  I love playing early online BBS games.  What a treat of an article.  First game I ever played that had "D&D" type gameplay and had graphics is in my avatar.  <Goes and looks for C64>......

     

  • DrevarDrevar Member UncommonPosts: 177

    Does anyone remember Fates of Twinion?  Could have sworn it was made by Sierra and part of one of the 500 different names they used for thier online services over the years.  The game was sold along with Shadow of Yserbius, which was an offline single-player prequel. 

    I didn't play long, but it was my first experience with online graphical RPGs.

    As for the original Neverwinter Nights on AOL, there was no seperate charge to play the game.  It was simply $3.50 an hour for the AOL connection.  Gotta love that $1000 VISA charge one month.  They later reduced the charge to $2.95 an hour and finally went flat rate, which pretty much killed the service.  Thats when AOL users became the legion of ubernoobs everyone with a "real" ISP made fun of.  A big corporate shift happened about that time and for whatever reason they obliterated thier old games along with hundreds of content providers (Bethesda used to have an awesome support channel) when they decided to start charging companies to have a presence.  I don't know if Gemstone III even bothered to stay behind or not.

     

    Drev

    "If MMORPG players were around when God said, "Let their be light" they'd have called the light gay, and plunged the universe back into darkness by squatting their nutsacks over it."
    -Luke McKinney, The 7 Biggest Dick Moves in the History of Online Gaming

    "In the end, SWG may have been more potential and promise than fulfilled expectation. But I'd rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
    -Raph Koster

  • SlyLoKSlyLoK Member RarePosts: 2,698

    Originally posted by Drevar



    Does anyone remember Fates of Twinion?  Could have sworn it was made by Sierra and part of one of the 500 different names they used for thier online services over the years.  The game was sold along with Shadow of Yserbius, which was an offline single-player prequel. 

    I didn't play long, but it was my first experience with online graphical RPGs.

    As for the original Neverwinter Nights on AOL, there was no seperate charge to play the game.  It was simply $3.50 an hour for the AOL connection.  Gotta love that $1000 VISA charge one month.  They later reduced the charge to $2.95 an hour and finally went flat rate, which pretty much killed the service.  Thats when AOL users became the legion of ubernoobs everyone with a "real" ISP made fun of.  A big corporate shift happened about that time and for whatever reason they obliterated thier old games along with hundreds of content providers (Bethesda used to have an awesome support channel) when they decided to start charging companies to have a presence.  I don't know if Gemstone III even bothered to stay behind or not.

     

    Drev

    That was probably around the time EA bought out several games and removed them from AOL and Gamsestorm ( they also bought Gamestorm ). I know Gamestorm didnt last long after that happened.. Went from 50,000 + concurrent users to ~10,000 during prime hours.

  • phreackphreack Member Posts: 17

    I still log into The Realm every once and a while. Have had an active account for years. My first love of online gaming. 

  • JaskelJaskel Member Posts: 1

    The Realm was a great game; my first mmo!  2.xx was much better than 3.xx.  Remember guilds such as LoR, MoB, PhreakerZ.  Jumpers Corner in the Killing Fields... Good times, good times.

  • KilmarKilmar Member UncommonPosts: 844

    WTF, what a wow hater list. Since everyone knows, wow was the very first MMO!

    I played M59 long, I loved Ko'catan :)

     

  • D4rkknightD4rkknight Member Posts: 2

    Haha, i still play The Realm Online almost daily.  coul dnever find another mmo i had as much fun playing.

  • DignaDigna Member UncommonPosts: 1,994

    I loved the Realm and have gone back a couple times. Probably would still play except for the fact that the video resolution (apparently) hasn't kept up with the more recent OS(s). Still and all it was enjoyable.

  • airweaponairweapon Member Posts: 2

    Originally posted by Digna

    I loved the Realm and have gone back a couple times. Probably would still play except for the fact that the video resolution (apparently) hasn't kept up with the more recent OS(s). Still and all it was enjoyable.

     Hi ALL

    I was a player when Stephen  was in charge of The Realm Online and Trag,Goldem Angel and Realm GM use to come pounce us when we tried to get to the only chest in the game and eveyone wanted a SOG (sword of good) Back then I went by the name of Carter he was turned into my GM toon along with KissMe and LadyTree & Lady Morgana are some of the names I remember as GM,s in the Realm would be nice to go back just to see whats new  but a GM character cant be brought back since Norseman took over and yesI did do Beta for M 59 so that memory is still fresh

    and yes allways walked out into jumpers corner  with PVP on so Alustra could jump me She was fun

    Carter / Retrac  

  • DolnorDolnor Member UncommonPosts: 32

    Shadow of Yserbius and Fates of Twinion were dungeons on The Sierra Network (TSN) long ago when the Internet was called Arpanet and used only by the military and universities.  The Sierra Network was created by Sierra Online and had other games like Red Baron, Boogers, an adult area with card games and hot tub chat rooms, etc.  TSN was sold to AT&T and renamed to ImagNation Network (INN). During this time, a new dungeon named Ruins of Cawdor was added. I stopped paying the $3.95 / hour rate about this time...ran out of spending money! -(

    By the way, INN Revival is a group trying to resurrect INN, including Yserbius/Twinion dungeons and the other games.  The url is http://sites.google.com/site/innrevival/home

     

    The Realm Online FTW!

    I was there for 12 years as Noldor/Dolnor.  Started in Feb 1996 in the first wave of testers.  Nothing to do in-game except hunt the few wolves that would appear (and eat a rose if poisoned by the said wolves), wander around about 12 screens, hang out at Jerrith's Info Stand, and wonder what the towns were going to look like as we stood outside the lone town wall.

    Later came the great Key and Pants of Holding quests...after the server reset every 25 minutes.  I even met one of my ex-girlfriend (DALishus/TwinklePinkyToes/Isis)in The Realm...and we are still RL friends to this day. 

    Hail ETINU!

    Dolnor aka Noldor Numbwit

    Eternal Newbie

  • ShasatoShasato Member Posts: 1

    I'm sorry to say, but your #1 is wrong, Kingdom Of Drakkar was launched in 1989, before The Realm Online's launch of 1995.

     

    www.kingdomofdrakkar.com

     

    It is classified as an MMORPG, and is a very good, but forgotten game.

  • PeacemakerOnPeacemakerOn Member Posts: 7

    Originally posted by Morv

    a. The games that predated UO were not popular. That is important.

    c. I don't give a rats ass how many times someone else mentioned why it wasn't included, it's wrong. UO is a classic and should be on any historical MMO reference regarding length of time active, first MMO to incorporate true persistance, first *popular* graphical *MUD*, etc. the list goes on. To not include it is simply foolish.

    *edit* Additionally, MUDs incorporated persistent elements such as dropping items on the ground and that item would remain even after the player logged off. The first *graphical* online game to do the same was Ultima Online. The rest, well sorry  to break it to you but as far as I'm concerned those are not really MMOs... They didn't incorporate features from the original pioneers of online games, MUDs and the creativity and innovation that came from them. People have completely forgotten what an MMORPG is and how it was defined ten years ago. Just because someone slapped something together and called in an MMORPG doesn't make it an MMORPG. My favorite example, World of Warcraft, is NOT an MMORPG, it is merely an Online Game.

    Morv - I understand your logic, but I must disagree. Many of your points are simply incorrect. - this goes for any with the same view that have also posted in the thread.

    A. UO was not the most popular MMO during the beginnings of MMO's.

    Ultima Online stems from the Ultima Series, a series of single player RPG's. It had a large fan base from those who played off-line. When Ultima Online came out, it had A. that already large fan base who went and bought internet just so they could continue the franchise, B. People who already had internet and were interested in ANY new MMOs that were showing up. So we got lots of publicity that other mmos simply did not have the ability to have, and the normal group of players which played the other games. That is why they had such a large player-base for its time. It is an important game to note though, not for its player base, but for the PUBLICITY and the NOTICE they were able to achieve with people OUTSIDE of the online realm.

    Other MMO's which came out before Ultima were just as popular, if you consider the percentage of people playing out of the number who had internet access. So your argument is simply untrue. Ultima was NOT the most popular. Is WoW the most popular game of all time? No. It has the most player-base ever, but many older games had the same rediculous amount of players out of the number that could have played.

    B. your argument here is basically a mixture of A and C so I wont even comment.

    C. Just because something is Classic, doesn't mean its the longest. And it is NOT the first persistant world.

    This is a HISTORICAL account on the length of MMORPG's. Just because World War II was an Important war, doesn't make it even close to one of the first, nor the longest in History.

    The next part is Easy. I'll disprove your whole "its the first to..." Terra: Battle for the Outlands, a popular game for its time (though short lived on much updates when the company shut it down), still runs today thanks to its players, was Released BEFORE Ultima Online, and was a fully persistant graphical world. It was one giant planet you could run around in, everything happened in real time, and you could have massive battles with lots of players at the same time. you could ride around for literally days before getting to a specific location. Something that is hard to find today. All this before your precious UO.

     

    Also to note...a MUD is not an MMORPG

    MUDs are Multi-User Dungeons...its like having a giant world in a lot of different rooms. And, they are text based. 

    MMORPGs are based on the principals of MUDs, and originally they were simply called Graphical MUDs. The term MMORPG was created because of the fact that they were deviating from the tradition MUD. They were larger, expanding the boundaries of simply dungeons, they were developing into 3D worlds, and you didnt have to type "go left". Its not that people have "forgotten" what an MMORPG is. It simply has a different definition than what MUDs were. Early games were a lot like MUDs yes, because thats how they started. As more technology arised, developers found they could achieve much more than with a MUD, so they slowly changed into the MMORPGs we have today. This is not a bad thing, its good, and it will change even more. Many today are trying to bring back some of the things that never should have disapeared from the genre, like your fully persistant world...what comes of that will create something entirely new.

     

    (And uh sorry for the long post...I just needed to get that off my chest)

  • AdderaxAdderax Member Posts: 30

    I loved The Realm.  I have gone back a few times and tried it on new accounts (I gave my account away to 'Deidre').  I left after 3x came out and they put out black baldrics into the store.  Someone sold it to me for what I had in the bank so to speak.  A week later, they wiped them all out.  I still have a picture of it somewhere.  I took it with LadyAngelEyes and a few others.  Looong ago...I think I was in middle school back then :o.  I would have stayed with The Realm if not for the baldric wipe/conversion; after this event I hit UO, which I stuck with until EQ...which I left after a month when I realized the grindy must have group nature of it, which went against both The Realm and UO mentality.

  • signal2noisesignal2noise Member Posts: 17

    It's "without further ado", not 'adieu' which is French for farewell.

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