Developers used to focus on making a good game and these days they focus on making money. They already know what makes a good game but prefer to make money than make good games. This is thanks to MMORPGs becoming mainstream so thanks WoW. Only thing left is little indie games which have the right focus of making a good game unfortantely they have a lack of people due to a lack of budgeting which means a lack of updates so people move on.
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
Maybe because of the incredibely fast pace of technology is ever changing and the massive change in the demographics of the MMO consumers? UO eventually was left in the dust. If it was soooo good then why is it not still kicking? UO was the pioneer of MMOs and would be incredibely lacklust to modern MMOs. MMOs nowadays have plenty of incredibely satisfied consumers that far exceed UO's peak sub numbers.
Last I knew...UO is still going, just as EQ is. Sub numbers don't equal success btw. Longetivity does more so.
And not to forget: UO was changed into an EQ-clone with Age of Shadows, leaving almost nothing of the old gameplay intact.
So in a way original UO does not exist anymore.
It was over for UO when they released Renaissance, the second expansion. Trammel killed UO.
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
try to release with such an outdated gfx engine nowadays ^^
some people just have no idea what they talk about... shesh.
"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
It's funny to think about that yeh.. but it's not because those games were better. It was because those games were better 'at the time'. It's all relative.. if UO had never been released, everything else til now released as normal and they released it next week... the game would get pounded into the ground. It wouldn't even see the light of day. Fond memories are fond because of the time and space more than anything else, not because they are/were amazing compared to todays standards..
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
Maybe because of the incredibely fast pace of technology is ever changing and the massive change in the demographics of the MMO consumers? UO eventually was left in the dust. If it was soooo good then why is it not still kicking? UO was the pioneer of MMOs and would be incredibely lacklust to modern MMOs. MMOs nowadays have plenty of incredibely satisfied consumers that far exceed UO's peak sub numbers.
Last I knew...UO is still going, just as EQ is. Sub numbers don't equal success btw. Longetivity does more so.
And not to forget: UO was changed into an EQ-clone with Age of Shadows, leaving almost nothing of the old gameplay intact.
So in a way original UO does not exist anymore.
It was over for UO when they released Renaissance, the second expansion. Trammel killed UO.
Agrred.... This was brought on by EA
The whole game was brought on by EA they owned Origin through the entire development of the game.
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
Maybe because of the incredibely fast pace of technology is ever changing and the massive change in the demographics of the MMO consumers? UO eventually was left in the dust. If it was soooo good then why is it not still kicking? UO was the pioneer of MMOs and would be incredibely lacklust to modern MMOs. MMOs nowadays have plenty of incredibely satisfied consumers that far exceed UO's peak sub numbers.
Last I knew...UO is still going, just as EQ is. Sub numbers don't equal success btw. Longetivity does more so.
And not to forget: UO was changed into an EQ-clone with Age of Shadows, leaving almost nothing of the old gameplay intact.
So in a way original UO does not exist anymore.
It was over for UO when they released Renaissance, the second expansion. Trammel killed UO.
Agrred.... This was brought on by EA
The whole game was brought on by EA they owned Origin through the entire development of the game.
ya, but it only counts when something they don't like happens. Havent you learned this yet? Origin had exclusive control over the game until each individual player stopped liking it, then EA ruined it.
Originally posted by moguy2 Some one , any one, buy them and fix up Anarchy Online please!
Anarchy will always be the best game ever made imo. No game out there can ever come close to it. I have given up hopes though that it will ever be updated.
Iwould defintly try AO 2.0. Best MMO Funcom ever made was AO. TSW needs a betterengine or a entire animations makeover. Conan is just sad, scrap it entirely
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
It might sound logical if you dont think about it but UO were released in 1997 and the prices of making games have tenfolded since then.
And it already had gone up a lot since 10 years before that. A lot of the best games ever were made by 2 guys in a garage.
Making a great MMO today is really expensive and FunCom is just too small to really pull it off. Both AoC and TSW have great ideas but way too little content, as well as they were released far too early since FC couldnt afford to wait until they were ready.
I am not saying that UO (or AC, M59 and a bunch of other classics as well) wasnt a masterpiece but if it were released today it would have failed unless it had 10 times the budget of the original game, at least.
Of course a truly masterprogrammer as lead programmer could also cut the costs a lot, but there are just a handful of those in the world and the only one working on a MMO leads Undead labs.
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
That is a pretty sad but true statement. I don't think the big developers could create the magic that UO was because it wouldn't draw the numbers that investors are looking for.
For someone to want to buy a company, it has to "be worth something" and have some kind of reasonable prospects going forward.
From the post TSW launch financial report, everyone knew that FC was in serious financial trouble. That they are looking for a buyer is no surprise: they have been for a while.
But why would anyone want to buy?
The price would have to be stupidly low for anyone to bother.
All in all, it is largely a "who cares" thing.
My guess is that one of the Asian F2P companies will eventually pick up one or more of FCs MMOs should FC go under.
anarchy online makes me laugh so hard. whenever I have a bad day I lurk on their forums for a bit to watch the 3 people still playing ( who is really one person with 3 frozen accounts) arguing over the same crap that happened 8 years ago. if ever there was a failed game to laugh at as it survives on fumes it would be AO. The best part is even after 3 new game directors and all the layoffs those lemmings still cling to hope of a new engine 10+ years in the making and acutal balance changes. if only I knew how to milk suckers so well
"Do not speak to me of fate!" ~ A fairy tale for the Demon Lord
Originally posted by nethervoid It's funny how a game like UO can be so friggin awesome and published by a pretty small company and budget, but new MMOs can't seem to grasp what made that game a blast. It's only been 15 years guys. You figured it out yet?
It funny that people believe that UO had a pretty small budget. According to wiki " The development cost was much greater than traditional computer games". Not sure what the budget was, but does not sound like "pretty small". AlsoOrigin Systems was not a pretty small company either and by the time UO was released it was owned already by EA.
Yes offcourse compared to right now the budget is a lot lower, but you can not really compare that. Relativly speaking it was not a low budget.
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This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
Agrred.... This was brought on by EA
try to release with such an outdated gfx engine nowadays ^^
some people just have no idea what they talk about... shesh.
"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
Funcom is not an exciting company to invest in.
Just look at their gameplays.
If I got the money, I would rather invest it in PearlAbyss and Star Citizen.
Pardon my English as it is not my 1st language
It's funny to think about that yeh.. but it's not because those games were better. It was because those games were better 'at the time'. It's all relative.. if UO had never been released, everything else til now released as normal and they released it next week... the game would get pounded into the ground. It wouldn't even see the light of day. Fond memories are fond because of the time and space more than anything else, not because they are/were amazing compared to todays standards..
Zynga makes some questionable investments so I guess Funcom fits that bill. :P
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
The whole game was brought on by EA they owned Origin through the entire development of the game.
ya, but it only counts when something they don't like happens. Havent you learned this yet? Origin had exclusive control over the game until each individual player stopped liking it, then EA ruined it.
Anarchy will always be the best game ever made imo. No game out there can ever come close to it. I have given up hopes though that it will ever be updated.
i think either ea or activision will buy it .i will be very surprised if square enix bought it
zynga is in horrible position i doubt it too
Thank you for one the most funnily apt videos I have seen in a long time.
EA are a contender. AO would get the boot and TSW would have a easymode makover and P2W cash shop.
I miss DAoC
Aa far as Funcom goes Let the " Twinkes " fall where they May. Good Ridance
MAGA
It might sound logical if you dont think about it but UO were released in 1997 and the prices of making games have tenfolded since then.
And it already had gone up a lot since 10 years before that. A lot of the best games ever were made by 2 guys in a garage.
Making a great MMO today is really expensive and FunCom is just too small to really pull it off. Both AoC and TSW have great ideas but way too little content, as well as they were released far too early since FC couldnt afford to wait until they were ready.
I am not saying that UO (or AC, M59 and a bunch of other classics as well) wasnt a masterpiece but if it were released today it would have failed unless it had 10 times the budget of the original game, at least.
Of course a truly masterprogrammer as lead programmer could also cut the costs a lot, but there are just a handful of those in the world and the only one working on a MMO leads Undead labs.
That is a pretty sad but true statement. I don't think the big developers could create the magic that UO was because it wouldn't draw the numbers that investors are looking for.
Funcom doesn't care about AO that's the sad part. AO has the same bugs for years, decades even. Been waiting for the new engine for so long now.
That game had so many potential before LE came out.
Dream on.
Funcom is not for sale at this level.
Everything are sadly for sale when the price is high enought.
For someone to want to buy a company, it has to "be worth something" and have some kind of reasonable prospects going forward.
From the post TSW launch financial report, everyone knew that FC was in serious financial trouble. That they are looking for a buyer is no surprise: they have been for a while.
But why would anyone want to buy?
The price would have to be stupidly low for anyone to bother.
All in all, it is largely a "who cares" thing.
My guess is that one of the Asian F2P companies will eventually pick up one or more of FCs MMOs should FC go under.
"Perfect World" are Chinese and very intereted in the Western Market, they bought Cryptic and STO, they also have Neverwinter in development.
AO, AoC, and TSW suits perfectly their portfolio
Killing dragons is my shit
"Do not speak to me of fate!" ~ A fairy tale for the Demon Lord
It funny that people believe that UO had a pretty small budget. According to wiki " The development cost was much greater than traditional computer games". Not sure what the budget was, but does not sound like "pretty small". Also Origin Systems was not a pretty small company either and by the time UO was released it was owned already by EA.
Yes offcourse compared to right now the budget is a lot lower, but you can not really compare that. Relativly speaking it was not a low budget.
If so not really a "small company"
If your looking for old mmos that were Indies - daoc, Ao, ac