Originally posted by moptopRPG Are you retarted...seriously... there is time for intelect and there is a time for guns, swords and action...video games are for the latter of the two. Good luck with your game lol. Peace Out
*sigh* Games can be a time for intellect! Just like some books and movies are "just for fun," others can challenge you. Games are no different, and actually provide a great environment for players to learn about themselves.
Originally posted by moptopRPG Are you retarted...seriously... there is time for intelect and there is a time for guns, swords and action...video games are for the latter of the two. Good luck with your game lol.
There have always been games of intellect (Chess, Poker, et al.) and games of action (Sports). Video games can be either as well. The most challenging games incorporate both. Video games are for whatever a specific player wants them to be... not just what you want them to be.
Hmm, lesse why Myst was the most popular selling game of all time. Maybe people wanted something different? Maybe your idea of guns, action, and killing aren't my idea of a video game?
Yes, books come in all flavours as well. The Myst novels appeal to some,not to others. Just like the game.
Please tell me you're kidding! Have you ever heard of Myst? It's only the first successful computer game ever, and the second best selling computer game of the twentieth century! Uru Live is like Myst Online, kinda. It's my life.
Ok, it did sell 11 million copies. Myst was released in the twentieth century(100 years). It was released in 1993. But call it the first succesful game isn't true. Other PC games released before also made bucks. But you can say it was the most succesful game(for PC) before Sims.
Those of us who actually like to do something that challenges our grey matter and encourages thought will be waiting for Uru.
Those gamers who live for p0wing the enemy, and can't see beyond the next big thing to kill will have plenty to do in their own games.
I never have to worry about trying to decypher l33t sp33k, never have to worry about being slaughtered at spawn points. Those are fine for the people who enjoy them, and the hardcore kiddies will likely be unattracted to Uru. For which I am thankful.
Let me try to answer this - sorry for the bad behavior of some of my fellow Myst "avid" fans. You know how that goes - people can be very protective of a game they love!
- Uru Live and Myst
Myst is a 10 year old game, a solo player game. Sure, it looked beautiful, and I personally enjoy it - actually I love it. But of course it looks and plays like a 10 year old solo player game. The important thing is that Uru Live is not Myst. Uru Live is a modern multiplayer game. While it borrows from the backstory (more on that later) - it's not Myst, and that's good. Myst would have made a terrible multiplayer game!
- The story
Uru Live is set in the same gameworld as Myst, and more importantly Myst, Riven, Myst III, Myst IV, and Myst V. Specifically, it deals with an ancient city, the people who created it (who are now, we think, gone) and the additional worlds - ages - that they created. Aside from the rich backstory, there is a front "story" - explorers have been called to the ancient city of the "D'ni" and there is some conflicts around that, some suggestions of opposing factions.. It's not clear if all the D'ni , the ancient people, are gone, and there is another race on the periphery of the world that we may have to deal with. I don't know that much about the story, nor do I know how engaging it will be, or the role the players will have, but I know that the story is there.
- Graphics and story don't make a game.
I totally agree with that! It's the whole thing that makes up a game - graphics, story, and more importantly, gameplay, which includes interaction with other people. If Uru Live didn't have gameplay, something to do in the game, it wouldn't be much fun. I do think that the Uru Live developers know this. I know for a fact that some of them play and enjoy MMORPG games, though we know that Uru Live is not going to be an RPG game.
- Uru LIve is "intellectual", also gameplay
Well, yes and most assuredly "no", on the intellectural, brainy part. Gameplay does involve solving puzzles, but, as far as we know, that's only part of gameplay. You won't be killing monsters (as far as we know), but you will be solving puzzles, exploring the worlds (that's a big deal), finding stuff, interacting with other people, and playing some other sorts of games. I believe that there is some concept of advancement in the game, but I don't know how it works. It's also important to note that if you aren't a puzzle sort of person, there is always help available in solving the puzzles.
On gameplay, let me quote from the interview with Rand Miller (head of Cyan, the company developing the game) - the article is available here at MMORPG , look on the section for Uru Live.
From Rand Miller - "Uru of course will have puzzles that follow the Myst legacy. But because it's so vast and dynamic there is room to add other forms of gameplay and entertainment. There is potential for competitive play, as well as skill-based, and even simple social oriented games. In addition there is a story that flows in and around everything in Uru"
From Rand Miller - on advancinng in the game - "Uru is oriented around players real choices. The more you explore the more you understand things and you hone your actually skill in Uru. The D'ni culture was organized around a guild system that will certainly provide options for players to choose from in the future as well. But the idea is to provide enticing places and story-line to explore rather than to provide a mechanism for leveling a character"
I realize that's kind of vague, but that's all we have right now.
- So what's it like to be in Uru Live
I can't answer on what it's like to be in Uru Live, but I can give a partial answer, based on my experience with a previous beta version of the game. What I think will carry over is how enaging the world is. It's a big beautiful mysterious world. I don't think that's different from some other MMORPGs, but, as far as I can tell, the difference is that you will have more time to experience the world. Aside from the things that you do in the game, there will be more time to wander around the worlds, find new areas to explore, and (of course) meet new people. We have also been told that new "ages" will be released on a periodic basis, and there will also be new content being added, all the time.
The previous version of the game also had a very nice setup of areas - into public, semi-public (a group can own an age and elect to make it private) and private areas. Private ages includes your private world, and some additional areas (worlds, or "ages", in game parlance) that you had access to, and can elect to share with other people. Think of this as persistent private dungeons. Again, I don't know how the new game is going to set up, but I suspect that they will still be rich in both public areas and persistent private, though shareable ages. If you think about it, that's important to gameplay. If some of what you do involves solving puzzles, you may not get done in one session, and you don't want to lose your progress - you want to take up where you left off. Hence the reason for persistent private areas. That's how I look at it, but again, I haven't seen this new game - it's not out yet.
I will agree with those who say that it's a "slower" game. I can't see any way around that - I can't see how Uru Live will be as fast paced as many MMORPGs. I don't think that "slower" has to translate to "boring", but if you like a continuously action packed game, Uru Live may not be for you.
- So, will I like it?
I don't know who is and who is not going to like it. What I do hope is that they offer a free trial, like most MMORPG games. We have been told that there is no online game to buy, so a free trial would be really "free". I think the best thing to do, when it's out, is try it yourself, and see if you like it.
Let me know if I can answer any more questions, and I, or someone else in the community, will be happy to do so.
Ok for all you people who seek intellectual games, you are wrong in your doing. Just wrong. If you want to challenge you intellect go to school join the chess club... w/e get smarter. But video games are video games..i mean seriously... how boring is a game that is based on intellect. First off it will be boring just like myst was. Period. Secondly, i am not syaing that being smart is stupid *lol*. Personaly i have no problem doing somethign intellectual but not as a game, you need action in a game; fun, thrilling action. Too the person who said that their are intellectual games like chess and action games like sports, I am sry to say that you need this game because u need to gain some smarts lol. First off we are talking about video games, I know you are compairing ok. But this is totally diffrent, when people think of a video game they dont go, O I like chess and being smart...lets go solve problems...TOGETHER!! No, they visualize a fun, thrilling world of action and adventure. Intellectual games are ironicaly stupid. Stupid and boring. No, not becaus ethey are to hard and i need the action of real video games all the time but because video games dont mix with solving math problems together. So overall, just forget about the boring, URU or Myst and move on to something more fun like mabye Planetside or Halo. Anything that will help you to have fun and increase you hand eye cordination without making you an idiot by giving you the wrong idea of what a game is and should be.
PS Don't forget it is ok to play sports. Movement is good for your body. Also school is a better alternative than a bad excuse for a video game. One more thing, if you are out of school and think these suxy games are fun, try night schooling. Gl
Originally posted by Grilox Why is Uru Live gonna be great? 1: It requires pure intellect (Or pure faq searching) 2: Anyone can play it, no matter how old and feeble their reflexes are. 3: It isn't Counterstrike 4: 4 out of 5 dentists reccomend it 5: And if you are violent, you can always just jump on people's heads from balconies, which is always fun. 6: You do not talk about Fight Club. Well, except for that last one, that is why Uru Live is gonna rock.
Wow that made me want to play the game big time. Accualy not rele this game looks horrible. JL with the jokes though they seem to be doing you good.
Originally posted by Eleri Those of us who actually like to do something that challenges our grey matter and encourages thought will be waiting for Uru.
Those gamers who live for p0wing the enemy, and can't see beyond the next big thing to kill will have plenty to do in their own games.
I never have to worry about trying to decypher l33t sp33k, never have to worry about being slaughtered at spawn points. Those are fine for the people who enjoy them, and the hardcore kiddies will likely be unattracted to Uru. For which I am thankful.
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
Ideally, Uru live will focus on the "adventure" part of action and adventure. I think there will also be a decent amount of conversation in the game - there was in the beta of a previous version of the game.
If a lot of action is your thing, I agree - it won't be for you. I do agree that Uru Live has to be fun. As to gameplay - well, you know, there are all kinds of games, and all kinds of gamers. Not everyone is focused on the same thing, in a gem.
On the "intellectual" part - see my post above. The answer is "yes" and "no". Not everyone who played the previous version of the game (the beta and then the open beta) was in it for the puzzles.
Originally posted by moptopRPG Ok for all you people who seek intellectual games, you are wrong in your doing. Just wrong. If you want to challenge you intellect go to school join the chess club... w/e get smarter. But video games are video games..i mean seriously... how boring is a game that is based on intellect. First off it will be boring just like myst was. Period. Secondly, i am not syaing that being smart is stupid *lol*. Personaly i have no problem doing somethign intellectual but not as a game, you need action in a game; fun, thrilling action. Too the person who said that their are intellectual games like chess and action games like sports, I am sry to say that you need this game because u need to gain some smarts lol. First off we are talking about video games, I know you are compairing ok. But this is totally diffrent, when people think of a video game they dont go, O I like chess and being smart...lets go solve problems...TOGETHER!! No, they visualize a fun, thrilling world of action and adventure. Intellectual games are ironicaly stupid. Stupid and boring. No, not becaus ethey are to hard and i need the action of real video games all the time but because video games dont mix with solving math problems together. So overall, just forget about the boring, URU or Myst and move on to something more fun like mabye Planetside or Halo. Anything that will help you to have fun and increase you hand eye cordination without making you an idiot by giving you the wrong idea of what a game is and should be. PS Don't forget it is ok to play sports. Movement is good for your body. Also school is a better alternative than a bad excuse for a video game. One more thing, if you are out of school and think these suxy games are fun, try night schooling. Gl Peace Out
Oh come on, Do you seriously believe this? You think that the millions of sold copies are worth nothing? You think that what you think is boring everyone thinks is boring? You have a right to an opinion, but that dosen't mean it isn't stupid.
And you're completely denying the entire puzzle/adventure game genre. You also seem to have confused some terms. Video game Does NOT equal MMOG.
It being an intellectual game does not mean that it can't be fun. I find great fun in solving puzzles, and I love to do it with other people too. It's fun to put your brains together to figure out a solution.
You need action in a game? What the heck are you talking about? Action is merely one of the tools of the trade of game designers. Ever heard of RTS games, and to a more extreme extent, Turn based Strategy games? Not much action there. Only RTS games have any form of reaction requirement there.
Don't get me wrong, action games are fun. (Especially Unreal Tournament ) but saying that every game ever should be like that is just wrong. There's something called innovation, perhaps you should try that sometime.
Finally, using IM type abbreviations (Like lol) is not a good way to help your argument. Very few people will take you seriously if you do that.
Originally posted by moptopRPG Originally posted by Eleri Those of us who actually like to do something that challenges our grey matter and encourages thought will be waiting for Uru.
Those gamers who live for p0wing the enemy, and can't see beyond the next big thing to kill will have plenty to do in their own games.
I never have to worry about trying to decypher l33t sp33k, never have to worry about being slaughtered at spawn points. Those are fine for the people who enjoy them, and the hardcore kiddies will likely be unattracted to Uru. For which I am thankful.
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
I find your "Weak gamer" comment to be highly uninformed. L33t sp34k is hard to decipher for many people, not because of newbieness, but instead because the person speaking l33t to be really bad at it. I have seen it often, with people speaking l33t but being unable to make any recognizable characters to even the most fluent l33t speaker.
You are not presenting a good case. You are resorting to what debaters like to call "Ad hominim," which is when a debater attacks the person debating instead of the argument at hand, which is something you seem to be doing a lot of.
While I am at it, you are also making a lot of uninformed arguments, and don't back it up with any evidence. This is not helping you in the least.
Originally posted by moptopRPG Originally posted by Eleri Those of us who actually like to do something that challenges our grey matter and encourages thought will be waiting for Uru.
Those gamers who live for p0wing the enemy, and can't see beyond the next big thing to kill will have plenty to do in their own games.
I never have to worry about trying to decypher l33t sp33k, never have to worry about being slaughtered at spawn points. Those are fine for the people who enjoy them, and the hardcore kiddies will likely be unattracted to Uru. For which I am thankful.
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
To be honest I think its you who doesn't understand games. URU is not for the weak, quite from it. Its for the intelligent. So since when was intelligence a weakness?
URU may filter out players from other games but I have to say those are players whom I would rather game with which is good news for me as it means you won't be there.
Originally posted by Calmae Originally posted by moptopRPG Originally posted by Eleri Those of us who actually like to do something that challenges our grey matter and encourages thought will be waiting for Uru.
Those gamers who live for p0wing the enemy, and can't see beyond the next big thing to kill will have plenty to do in their own games.
I never have to worry about trying to decypher l33t sp33k, never have to worry about being slaughtered at spawn points. Those are fine for the people who enjoy them, and the hardcore kiddies will likely be unattracted to Uru. For which I am thankful.
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
To be honest I think its you who doesn't understand games. URU is not for the weak, quite from it. Its for the intelligent. So since when was intelligence a weakness?
URU may filter out players from other games but I have to say those are players whom I would rather game with which is good news for me as it means you won't be there.
Indeed. This is one of the benefits of having these people argue. At least you know you won't have to meet them in game
I think that any arguement about any adventure game would be shot down by some. I think it's just a case of we are all different, and all enjoy some aspect of different games. If you want your video game to be like Chess, well then Uru Live will likely be to your liking. If you like the thrill and excitement of blowing somebody's head off and screaming "Yes, I did it!" then likely you won't enjoy it. But I don't know that, 'cause I'm not you. Just like no two Zebras are the same, it's the same for video games.
A friend who plays WoW and Uru also had this to say to me: I sub'd World of Warcraft the other day. Man.. I think it might have been a mistake. It's more boring than I remember. So.... just walking around collecting things and dying and stuff. I really think Uru Live will be so much better. In WoW I just love to explore, but the game stops me from doing that by placing hard monsters that I can't fight at my level. Uru will let me explore, if I can solve problems.
That person who is somebody who's played so many games I can't begin to name them. So he's got a good sense of all the genres of games out there. He's coming to Uru Live. Are you?
I thought your post with the "reasons URU will be great" was cute.
I wouldn't let one poster whom can't spell or construct even simple sentences engage you in a battle over the intellectual value of a video game. I happen to play most of these ACTION games and I'm good at them. I also happen to be very athletic (name a sport, and I play it). Yet URU appeals to me more than all of the games discussed here. It's simply a matter of genre preference.
Folks,You're being trolled. Know a troll when you see it... and don't feed the trolls.
Just a tip.
I called one person on this already... back on page 3, I wrote:
I find it odd that if you find Myst so boring that you feel so compelled to add your opinion to the discussion here. Does it bug you that other people don't find it boring?
moptop is welcome to have his opinions, however wrong or misguided he may be. If he feels he must post those opinions here, that's his insecurity, it need not be a sign of ours to respond.
I don't quite understand why they think it'll be better the second time around? Putting aside the sort of community it would attract (I assume somewhat older and more mature), it doesn't seem to be a particularly good vehicle for an MMO. (not that I don't wish them luck) Isn't that why it failed in the first place? From Slashdot in Feb. '04:
"Announced today on the UbiSoft community boards. Uru Live, the online part of Cyan's PC title Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, will be closing down. They were not able to get enough subscribers (even within the free Beta) to sustain the world. Instead Cyan has refocused its efforts, and will be putting out expansion packs for Uru, the first of which, due out a couple months, will be freely downloadable."
I was pretty hyped for URU but then I found out about a new title: "Watching Grass Grow Online". Frankly I think this will be much, MUCH, more captivating than URU. You all should check it out.
Originally posted by Signe I don't quite understand why they think it'll be better the second time around? Putting aside the sort of community it would attract (I assume somewhat older and more mature), it doesn't seem to be a particularly good vehicle for an MMO. (not that I don't wish them luck) Isn't that why it failed in the first place? From Slashdot in Feb. '04:
"Announced today on the UbiSoft community boards. Uru Live, the online part of Cyan's PC title Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, will be closing down. They were not able to get enough subscribers (even within the free Beta) to sustain the world. Instead Cyan has refocused its efforts, and will be putting out expansion packs for Uru, the first of which, due out a couple months, will be freely downloadable."
I've been waiting for someone to bring up this topic. It's my chance to give Ubi a good kicking, again, for the sort of slimy way they handled things. That is not to say that everyone at Ubi is a bad person, but unfortunately as we've seen (*cough* Starforce Copy Protection *cough*) there are some bad apples making some of Ubi's decisions. Such was the case with Uru.
Cyan's original plan for Uru was to be a multiplayer game from the start. While a method of solo gaming was built into Uru (Uru has instancing, and you can choose who does or doesn't join you in an instance), Cyan never intended to release a single player version of the game on the market. In 2003, Ubisoft - within their rights, though I think it was a bad decision - ordered Cyan to shift direction and produce a single-player release (which became Uru: Ages Beyond Myst) for the holiday season. Ubi's beancounters really just wanted another MYST clone to fob onto the masses, and not a new original game. New things, as we all know, are risky, and game companies don't want risks - they want guaranteed success.
As a result of Ubi's intervention, Cyan had to divert resources from polishing the online game, and when Uru: ABM shipped, it included a little coupon for one free month of Uru Live. Here's the damning part: Nothing in the box mentioned that Uru Live had not started yet. Nothing indicated that the current service was a beta. Last, but not least, nothing in the box indicated that Ubi was watching the subscriber response to determine whether or not to launch the real service.
Two bad things happened.
First, a lot of people who purchased Uru or received it for Christmas did not promptly sign up for Uru Live. After all, why start the clock ticking on your free month when you've got a month or two of content handy to enjoy offline? These people reasoned that the ongoing story and content could wait until they had completed the offline story. They didn't know that signing up would not, in fact, start their free month. They did not know that by not signing up, they were helping to doom the service before it had really launched.
Second, many people who did sign up and got in discovered that the online version of Uru was buggy. As I mentioned before, Cyan had to divert attention away from fixing bugs and polishing Uru in order to push the single-player game out the door. Some of these people told their friends that Uru Live was buggy and that they should wait to sign up until the bugs were fixed. After all, no-one thought that Uru Live was going to shut down, and Cyan had not yet begun taking payments so waiting wasn't going to cause them any financial impact... right?
Ubi informed Cyan that Live was "no-go" a few days after Christmas Day, 2003, when a mountain of signups did NOT occur on Christmas Day.
So the bottom line is: Ubi's actions directly sabotaged Uru's opportunity. There weren't enough signups because Ubi's actions discouraged signups. And at the time, nobody understood everything that was going on... we only know what happened now with hindsight and a gradual trickle of information that came out over 2004 and 2005.
Uru wasn't given a fighting chance. It wasn't just an underdog, it was treated as one. It was snubbed and kicked before it could stand up. That's one of the reasons I have a bit of passion about it. Uru may yet fail... but I believe it should be given the chance to succeed or fail on its on merits, not with the rug swept out from under its feet.
That's a reasonable question. The finances back then were a matter between Cyan and Ubisoft. The details of their business model aren't publically known, but suffice it to say, they decided that the math didn't work.
I view it like a really great new TV show that just doesn't get the viewers, so the network pulls the plug. BUT, there is such a passioinate following of dedicated fans crying out "Don't Cancel URU!", that another network takes a look and says "Maybe they have something here?" This has happened with some of the greatest TV series of all time. Turner/Gametap already have an infrastructure for distributing the game along with some built in marketing. True, they recognize that the demographic for URU is far different from most MMORPGs, and I think they see this as an opportunity to tap a whole new audience.
So, the passionate following of the game long after it's original death combined with Gametap's built in infrastructure and the potential of tapping a huge new demographic of online players gives the business model a new chance.
That's my take on it, anyway. I wish them success, because I love the game and the community!
Dadguy
EDIT: Marten's post crossed with mine. He has more details leading to the initial discontinuation of URU!
EDIT: Marten's post crossed with mine. He has more details leading to the initial discontinuation of URU!
Believe it or not, that was a short description of what happened. I didn't even comment on other things like Ubi's handling of Shadowbane or The Matrix Online. These articles probably sum that up best:
Comments
Games can be a time for intellect! Just like some books and movies are "just for fun," others can challenge you. Games are no different, and actually provide a great environment for players to learn about themselves.
Cheers,
- Deg -
www.abstractpenguin.com
Video games are for whatever a specific player wants them to be... not just what you want them to be.
I wish you well in your game(s), too. LOL.
Machinima music videos
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2310
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2382
Yes, books come in all flavours as well. The Myst novels appeal to some,not to others. Just like the game.
Enjoy your gaming and I'll enjoy mine, thanks.
URU lives! Mystralia date set for July 29/30 http://www.mystralia.com for details.
Ok, it did sell 11 million copies. Myst was released in the twentieth century(100 years). It was released in 1993. But call it the first succesful game isn't true. Other PC games released before also made bucks. But you can say it was the most succesful game(for PC) before Sims.
The community makes the game worth looking at..
scientology
Those gamers who live for p0wing the enemy, and can't see beyond the next big thing to kill will have plenty to do in their own games.
I never have to worry about trying to decypher l33t sp33k, never have to worry about being slaughtered at spawn points. Those are fine for the people who enjoy them, and the hardcore kiddies will likely be unattracted to Uru. For which I am thankful.
Let me try to answer this - sorry for the bad behavior of some of my fellow Myst "avid" fans. You know how that goes - people can be very protective of a game they love!
- Uru Live and Myst
Myst is a 10 year old game, a solo player game. Sure, it looked beautiful, and I personally enjoy it - actually I love it. But of course it looks and plays like a 10 year old solo player game. The important thing is that Uru Live is not Myst. Uru Live is a modern multiplayer game. While it borrows from the backstory (more on that later) - it's not Myst, and that's good. Myst would have made a terrible multiplayer game!
- The story
Uru Live is set in the same gameworld as Myst, and more importantly Myst, Riven, Myst III, Myst IV, and Myst V. Specifically, it deals with an ancient city, the people who created it (who are now, we think, gone) and the additional worlds - ages - that they created. Aside from the rich backstory, there is a front "story" - explorers have been called to the ancient city of the "D'ni" and there is some conflicts around that, some suggestions of opposing factions.. It's not clear if all the D'ni , the ancient people, are gone, and there is another race on the periphery of the world that we may have to deal with. I don't know that much about the story, nor do I know how engaging it will be, or the role the players will have, but I know that the story is there.
- Graphics and story don't make a game.
I totally agree with that! It's the whole thing that makes up a game - graphics, story, and more importantly, gameplay, which includes interaction with other people. If Uru Live didn't have gameplay, something to do in the game, it wouldn't be much fun. I do think that the Uru Live developers know this. I know for a fact that some of them play and enjoy MMORPG games, though we know that Uru Live is not going to be an RPG game.
- Uru LIve is "intellectual", also gameplay
Well, yes and most assuredly "no", on the intellectural, brainy part. Gameplay does involve solving puzzles, but, as far as we know, that's only part of gameplay. You won't be killing monsters (as far as we know), but you will be solving puzzles, exploring the worlds (that's a big deal), finding stuff, interacting with other people, and playing some other sorts of games. I believe that there is some concept of advancement in the game, but I don't know how it works. It's also important to note that if you aren't a puzzle sort of person, there is always help available in solving the puzzles.
On gameplay, let me quote from the interview with Rand Miller (head of Cyan, the company developing the game) - the article is available here at MMORPG , look on the section for Uru Live.
From Rand Miller - "Uru of course will have puzzles that follow the Myst legacy. But because it's so vast and dynamic there is room to add other forms of gameplay and entertainment. There is potential for competitive play, as well as skill-based, and even simple social oriented games. In addition there is a story that flows in and around everything in Uru"
From Rand Miller - on advancinng in the game - "Uru is oriented around players real choices. The more you explore the more you understand things and you hone your actually skill in Uru. The D'ni culture was organized around a guild system that will certainly provide options for players to choose from in the future as well. But the idea is to provide enticing places and story-line to explore rather than to provide a mechanism for leveling a character"
I realize that's kind of vague, but that's all we have right now.
- So what's it like to be in Uru Live
I can't answer on what it's like to be in Uru Live, but I can give a partial answer, based on my experience with a previous beta version of the game. What I think will carry over is how enaging the world is. It's a big beautiful mysterious world. I don't think that's different from some other MMORPGs, but, as far as I can tell, the difference is that you will have more time to experience the world. Aside from the things that you do in the game, there will be more time to wander around the worlds, find new areas to explore, and (of course) meet new people. We have also been told that new "ages" will be released on a periodic basis, and there will also be new content being added, all the time.
The previous version of the game also had a very nice setup of areas - into public, semi-public (a group can own an age and elect to make it private) and private areas. Private ages includes your private world, and some additional areas (worlds, or "ages", in game parlance) that you had access to, and can elect to share with other people. Think of this as persistent private dungeons. Again, I don't know how the new game is going to set up, but I suspect that they will still be rich in both public areas and persistent private, though shareable ages. If you think about it, that's important to gameplay. If some of what you do involves solving puzzles, you may not get done in one session, and you don't want to lose your progress - you want to take up where you left off. Hence the reason for persistent private areas. That's how I look at it, but again, I haven't seen this new game - it's not out yet.
I will agree with those who say that it's a "slower" game. I can't see any way around that - I can't see how Uru Live will be as fast paced as many MMORPGs. I don't think that "slower" has to translate to "boring", but if you like a continuously action packed game, Uru Live may not be for you.
- So, will I like it?
I don't know who is and who is not going to like it. What I do hope is that they offer a free trial, like most MMORPG games. We have been told that there is no online game to buy, so a free trial would be really "free". I think the best thing to do, when it's out, is try it yourself, and see if you like it.
Let me know if I can answer any more questions, and I, or someone else in the community, will be happy to do so.
Regards,
mszv
Why is Uru Live gonna be great?
1: It requires pure intellect (Or pure faq searching)
2: Anyone can play it, no matter how old and feeble their reflexes are.
3: It isn't Counterstrike
4: 4 out of 5 dentists reccomend it
5: And if you are violent, you can always just jump on people's heads from balconies, which is always fun.
6: You do not talk about Fight Club.
Well, except for that last one, that is why Uru Live is gonna rock.
Ok for all you people who seek intellectual games, you are wrong in your doing. Just wrong. If you want to challenge you intellect go to school join the chess club... w/e get smarter. But video games are video games..i mean seriously... how boring is a game that is based on intellect. First off it will be boring just like myst was. Period. Secondly, i am not syaing that being smart is stupid *lol*. Personaly i have no problem doing somethign intellectual but not as a game, you need action in a game; fun, thrilling action. Too the person who said that their are intellectual games like chess and action games like sports, I am sry to say that you need this game because u need to gain some smarts lol. First off we are talking about video games, I know you are compairing ok. But this is totally diffrent, when people think of a video game they dont go, O I like chess and being smart...lets go solve problems...TOGETHER!! No, they visualize a fun, thrilling world of action and adventure. Intellectual games are ironicaly stupid. Stupid and boring. No, not becaus ethey are to hard and i need the action of real video games all the time but because video games dont mix with solving math problems together. So overall, just forget about the boring, URU or Myst and move on to something more fun like mabye Planetside or Halo. Anything that will help you to have fun and increase you hand eye cordination without making you an idiot by giving you the wrong idea of what a game is and should be.
PS Don't forget it is ok to play sports. Movement is good for your body. Also school is a better alternative than a bad excuse for a video game. One more thing, if you are out of school and think these suxy games are fun, try night schooling. Gl
Peace Out
~*(MMOs)*~
ATD3, ACEO, AoC, AO, AC, CO, COH, COV, DAC, DR, DDO, EO, EVE, EQ, EQ2, Flyff, GW, HG:L, HO, KO, L2, LotRO, MS, MUo, PotBS, PS, RagO, RF, ROSEo, Ryzom, SB, SWG, TLA, TMO, V:SoH, WO:AoR, WOW
~*(MMOs)*~
ATD3, ACEO, AoC, AO, AC, CO, COH, COV, DAC, DR, DDO, EO, EVE, EQ, EQ2, Flyff, GW, HG:L, HO, KO, L2, LotRO, MS, MUo, PotBS, PS, RagO, RF, ROSEo, Ryzom, SB, SWG, TLA, TMO, V:SoH, WO:AoR, WOW
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
~*(MMOs)*~
ATD3, ACEO, AoC, AO, AC, CO, COH, COV, DAC, DR, DDO, EO, EVE, EQ, EQ2, Flyff, GW, HG:L, HO, KO, L2, LotRO, MS, MUo, PotBS, PS, RagO, RF, ROSEo, Ryzom, SB, SWG, TLA, TMO, V:SoH, WO:AoR, WOW
Ideally, Uru live will focus on the "adventure" part of action and adventure. I think there will also be a decent amount of conversation in the game - there was in the beta of a previous version of the game.
If a lot of action is your thing, I agree - it won't be for you. I do agree that Uru Live has to be fun. As to gameplay - well, you know, there are all kinds of games, and all kinds of gamers. Not everyone is focused on the same thing, in a gem.
On the "intellectual" part - see my post above. The answer is "yes" and "no". Not everyone who played the previous version of the game (the beta and then the open beta) was in it for the puzzles.
Regards,
mszv
Oh come on, Do you seriously believe this? You think that the millions of sold copies are worth nothing? You think that what you think is boring everyone thinks is boring? You have a right to an opinion, but that dosen't mean it isn't stupid.
And you're completely denying the entire puzzle/adventure game genre. You also seem to have confused some terms. Video game Does NOT equal MMOG.
It being an intellectual game does not mean that it can't be fun. I find great fun in solving puzzles, and I love to do it with other people too. It's fun to put your brains together to figure out a solution.
You need action in a game? What the heck are you talking about? Action is merely one of the tools of the trade of game designers. Ever heard of RTS games, and to a more extreme extent, Turn based Strategy games? Not much action there. Only RTS games have any form of reaction requirement there.
Don't get me wrong, action games are fun. (Especially Unreal Tournament
) but saying that every game ever should be like that is just wrong. There's something called innovation, perhaps you should try that sometime.
Finally, using IM type abbreviations (Like lol) is not a good way to help your argument. Very few people will take you seriously if you do that.
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
I find your "Weak gamer" comment to be highly uninformed. L33t sp34k is hard to decipher for many people, not because of newbieness, but instead because the person speaking l33t to be really bad at it. I have seen it often, with people speaking l33t but being unable to make any recognizable characters to even the most fluent l33t speaker.
You are not presenting a good case. You are resorting to what debaters like to call "Ad hominim," which is when a debater attacks the person debating instead of the argument at hand, which is something you seem to be doing a lot of.
While I am at it, you are also making a lot of uninformed arguments, and don't back it up with any evidence. This is not helping you in the least.
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
To be honest I think its you who doesn't understand games. URU is not for the weak, quite from it. Its for the intelligent. So since when was intelligence a weakness?
URU may filter out players from other games but I have to say those are players whom I would rather game with which is good news for me as it means you won't be there.
LOL!!!!!
GL with you confined world, just to tell you 1337 isnt hard to decypher..at all. You know i am kind of happy that this game is coming out, I mean it will pcik up all the people who rele dont need to play games or talk in them, it will keep you busy with its boring content and problem solving. So i am thanking URU for making a container for the weak gamers who dont understand games...at all.
To be honest I think its you who doesn't understand games. URU is not for the weak, quite from it. Its for the intelligent. So since when was intelligence a weakness?
URU may filter out players from other games but I have to say those are players whom I would rather game with which is good news for me as it means you won't be there.
Indeed. This is one of the benefits of having these people argue. At least you know you won't have to meet them in game
A friend who plays WoW and Uru also had this to say to me: I sub'd World of Warcraft the other day. Man.. I think it might have been a mistake. It's more boring than I remember. So.... just walking
around collecting things and dying and stuff.
I really think Uru Live will be so much better. In WoW I just love to
explore, but the game stops me from doing that by placing hard monsters
that I can't fight at my level. Uru will let me explore, if I can solve
problems.
That person who is somebody who's played so many games I can't begin to name them. So he's got a good sense of all the genres of games out there. He's coming to Uru Live. Are you?
URU lives! Mystralia date set for July 29/30 http://www.mystralia.com for details.
Grilox,
I thought your post with the "reasons URU will be great" was cute.
I wouldn't let one poster whom can't spell or construct even simple sentences engage you in a battle over the intellectual value of a video game. I happen to play most of these ACTION games and I'm good at them. I also happen to be very athletic (name a sport, and I play it). Yet URU appeals to me more than all of the games discussed here. It's simply a matter of genre preference.
I hope to see you in URU.
Dadguy
Folks,You're being trolled. Know a troll when you see it... and don't feed the trolls.
Just a tip.
I called one person on this already... back on page 3, I wrote:
I find it odd that if you find Myst so boring that you feel so
compelled to add your opinion to the discussion here.
you that other people don't find it boring?
moptop is welcome to have his opinions, however wrong or misguided he may be. If he feels he must post those opinions here, that's his insecurity, it need not be a sign of ours to respond.
Machinima music videos
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2310
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2382
URU lives! Mystralia date set for July 29/30 http://www.mystralia.com for details.
"Announced today on the UbiSoft community boards. Uru Live, the online part of Cyan's PC title Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, will be closing down.
They were not able to get enough subscribers (even within the free
Beta) to sustain the world. Instead Cyan has refocused its efforts, and
will be putting out expansion packs for Uru, the first of which, due out a couple months, will be freely downloadable."
I was pretty hyped for URU but then I found out about a new title: "Watching Grass Grow Online". Frankly I think this will be much, MUCH, more captivating than URU. You all should check it out.
Cyan's original plan for Uru was to be a multiplayer game from the start. While a method of solo gaming was built into Uru (Uru has instancing, and you can choose who does or doesn't join you in an instance), Cyan never intended to release a single player version of the game on the market. In 2003, Ubisoft - within their rights, though I think it was a bad decision - ordered Cyan to shift direction and produce a single-player release (which became Uru: Ages Beyond Myst) for the holiday season. Ubi's beancounters really just wanted another MYST clone to fob onto the masses, and not a new original game. New things, as we all know, are risky, and game companies don't want risks - they want guaranteed success.
As a result of Ubi's intervention, Cyan had to divert resources from polishing the online game, and when Uru: ABM shipped, it included a little coupon for one free month of Uru Live. Here's the damning part: Nothing in the box mentioned that Uru Live had not started yet. Nothing indicated that the current service was a beta. Last, but not least, nothing in the box indicated that Ubi was watching the subscriber response to determine whether or not to launch the real service.
Two bad things happened.
First, a lot of people who purchased Uru or received it for Christmas did not promptly sign up for Uru Live. After all, why start the clock ticking on your free month when you've got a month or two of content handy to enjoy offline? These people reasoned that the ongoing story and content could wait until they had completed the offline story. They didn't know that signing up would not, in fact, start their free month. They did not know that by not signing up, they were helping to doom the service before it had really launched.
Second, many people who did sign up and got in discovered that the online version of Uru was buggy. As I mentioned before, Cyan had to divert attention away from fixing bugs and polishing Uru in order to push the single-player game out the door. Some of these people told their friends that Uru Live was buggy and that they should wait to sign up until the bugs were fixed. After all, no-one thought that Uru Live was going to shut down, and Cyan had not yet begun taking payments so waiting wasn't going to cause them any financial impact... right?
Ubi informed Cyan that Live was "no-go" a few days after Christmas Day, 2003, when a mountain of signups did NOT occur on Christmas Day.
So the bottom line is: Ubi's actions directly sabotaged Uru's opportunity. There weren't enough signups because Ubi's actions discouraged signups. And at the time, nobody understood everything that was going on... we only know what happened now with hindsight and a gradual trickle of information that came out over 2004 and 2005.
Uru wasn't given a fighting chance. It wasn't just an underdog, it was treated as one. It was snubbed and kicked before it could stand up. That's one of the reasons I have a bit of passion about it. Uru may yet fail... but I believe it should be given the chance to succeed or fail on its on merits, not with the rug swept out from under its feet.
Machinima music videos
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2310
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2382
Signe,
That's a reasonable question. The finances back then were a matter between Cyan and Ubisoft. The details of their business model aren't publically known, but suffice it to say, they decided that the math didn't work.
I view it like a really great new TV show that just doesn't get the viewers, so the network pulls the plug. BUT, there is such a passioinate following of dedicated fans crying out "Don't Cancel URU!", that another network takes a look and says "Maybe they have something here?" This has happened with some of the greatest TV series of all time. Turner/Gametap already have an infrastructure for distributing the game along with some built in marketing. True, they recognize that the demographic for URU is far different from most MMORPGs, and I think they see this as an opportunity to tap a whole new audience.
So, the passionate following of the game long after it's original death combined with Gametap's built in infrastructure and the potential of tapping a huge new demographic of online players gives the business model a new chance.
That's my take on it, anyway. I wish them success, because I love the game and the community!
Dadguy
EDIT: Marten's post crossed with mine. He has more details leading to the initial discontinuation of URU!
Q&A: Ubi.com's Jason Rubinstein (March 2004) - on Ubi backing out of Uru and The Matrix Online, but committing to purchase Shadowbane developers Wolfpack Studios.
Wolfpack Studios being shut down (March 2006) - on Ubi deciding to shut down Shadowbane developers just 2 years later.
Machinima music videos
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2310
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2382