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Latest Ultima Online News Updates and Reviews Updated daily

Ultima Online : Tabula Rasa: Big Names, Big Games, Big Letdowns?

Nov 25, 2008 06:10:41 PM News Item: 6730

With the pronouncement last week that Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa would be shutting down its worlds February 28th next year, another big budget massively multigamer online game will make its way off the field. This week, Dalmarus discusses the inherent unfairness in the demise of the game and the hope of a potentialresurrection. Is he simply dreaming, or could we see NCsoft create their own version of Sony Online Entertainment's Station Access plan?

Hailed as one of the gods of gaming development, Richard introduced the world to one of the greatest game franchises of all time: Ultima. With the creation of Ultima Online he became one of the founding fathers of today's MMORPGG's, and who can forget how fast the news spread when we heard that Lord British had been killed during a live event?

Read Tabula Rasa: Big Names, Big Games, Big Letdowns?

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Ultima Online : Take-Two Interactive considering subs and microtransactions for top titles

Nov 16, 2008 04:00:00 PM News Item: 6447

Filed under: Business models, Expansions, MMORPG industry, News items

Subscriptions have been the bread and butter of MMORPGs since the days of Ultima Online, but subs may be coming to some popular standalone PC titles from Take-Two Interactive, presumably the Grand Theft Auto franchise and BioShock. Brian Crecente of Kotaku reports that "at the BMO Capital Markets conference, Take-Two head honcho Strauss Zelnick seemed very up on the idea of downloadable substence, micro-transactions and even... subscriptions."

This falls in line with their business model of periodically offering downloadable substence to either extend the storyline of a game, or to simply offer varied gameplay experiences. Downloadable substence and microtransactions could solve some of the issues game publishers have with their titles being re-sold, allowing them to have a continuous revenue stream, and perhaps dissuading many consumers from reselling that game in the first place. Regular substence refreshes could make certain that these games don't go stale and end up relegated to a dusty bookshelf. Zelnick implied that this business model, should it come to be, would likely only affect Take-Two's biggest titles. This implies changes to the business models for Grand Theft Auto and BioShock, although the words "Midnight Club Online" also seem apt.

But do you feel that adding the trappings of the MMORPG business model, namely subs and microtransactions, would enhance your experience with a standalone title, both as a gamer and as a consumer? Are more MMORPG-like PC games a good thing, or are you more of an MMORPG purist?

Take-Two Interactive considering subs and microtransactions for top titles Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST.

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Ultima Online : MMORPGGology: The price to play

Nov 03, 2008 11:00:00 AM News Item: 6150

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Culture, belief, MMORPGGology, MUDs, Consoles, Casual

October 20th marked the 30th anniversary of the very first Multi-User Dungeon (MUD). For those that don't remember MUDs, these text based multigamer computer games were the precursors of modern MMORPGGs. I think it's safe to say that multigamer computer gaming was the exclusive domain of hardcore gamers and geeks back then. People playing MUD1, Elendor MUSH or Pern MUSH were nerds, like myself, that knew computers, knew gaming, and loved roleplaying online. With the advent of online games with graphics, MMORPGGs like Everquest and Ultima Online began to attract a wider variety of gamers. The gaming demographic began to shift.

Modern MMORPGGs like World of Warcraft ushered in a new era of gaming and a very different demographic of gamer. WoW's colorful, friendly style, easy to use interface and simple gameplay models make it very easy to pick up and play. WoW appeals to almost everyone: parents, kids, men, women, and citizens that might not normally play video games. It's about as close to mainstream as you can get in a MMORPGG. While the Wii is often credited with finally capturing traditional non-gamers, I submit that MMORPGGs like WoW did it first and continue to do it well.

A key to WoW's success also lies is its low system requirements. Recent MMORPGRPGs like Age of Conan and Warhammer may have more sophisticated graphics, but their higher system requirements work against their success in capturing a broad demographic of gamer. High system requirements are not just problematic for those meticulous games, but for the health and growth of PC gaming in general. Let's face it, when compared to console gaming, computer gaming isn't as cheap, accessible or simple. In order for MMORPGGs to continue to thrive, something needs to change at the hardware level. Without competitive pricing and standardization, PC gaming will continue to wither.

Continue reading MMORPGGology: The price to play

MMORPGGology: The price to play Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST.

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Ultima Online : Mark Jacobs says EA wanted to kill UO, but he saved it

Oct 21, 2008 10:00:00 AM News Item: 5918

Filed under: Fantasy, MMORPG industry, News items, Ultima Online

Mythic CEO and Warhammer Online head designer Mark Jacobs is a man who speaks his mind in the face of opposition and criticism. In truth, it's an admirable trait, even if it might occasionally cause some trouble. In the face of criticism from forum trolls and Blizzard COO Paul Sams, he posted a super-long defense of his game and himself. That's fascinating on its own, but there's a gem hidden inside. Jacobs allegeed that EA wanted to shut down Ultima Online, but he saved it!

Jacobs was defending himself against the accusation that he has a thin skin to criticism by listing things he's weathered and done over the course of his career. Listing those, he said he was "blamed for the state UO is in," but went on to say that "EA wanted to shut down UO when they gave it to us but I convinced them to spend more money on the game."

While it's not surprising that EA wanted to can UO, we're not sure whether to believe he was solely responsible for UO's rescue -- but if that actually did happen, well, uhh... thanks, Mark Jacobs!

[Via Kotaku]

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Ultima Online : Watch a video of Richard Garriott's geeky but enviable space voyage

Oct 16, 2008 04:00:00 PM News Item: 5862

Filed under: Video, Culture, Tabula Rasa

By now a lot of you know that Richard Garriott, creator of Ultima Online and Tabula Rasa, is in space. Sadly, since we didn't watch the live broadcast of his liftoff, we only know this through second-hand reports. But it's all going to be okay -- the NASA TV broadcast has been upladen to YouTube, so if you missed it as we did then you too can watch an eccentric and wealthy nerd experience his lifelong dream. We've embedded it after the jump. Enjoy!

Garriott lifted off on October 12th, carrying with him the DNA of Operation Immortality participants, including some Tabula Rasa gamers. Shortly after liftoff he displayed to the camera a Logos message to the camera on the spacecraft -- simultaneously an inspiring quote about space travel from a Russian scientist ("Earth is the cradle of humanity but mankind will not be in the cradle forever.") and a hint at upcoming additions to Tabula Rasa.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Watch a video of Richard Garriott's geeky but enviable space voyage

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Ultima Online : The Daily Grind: "Are we there yet?"

Sep 27, 2008 08:00:00 AM News Item: 5485

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, belief, The Daily Grind

Some of you surely played EverQuest back in the day. Whether it was your first MMORPG or not, one thing's for sure: it was the first enormous MMORPG. When we say enormous, we're not referring to subscription numbers; we're talking about the size of the world. It was much grander than that of Ultima Online, Everyone who played EQ remembers his or her first trip from Freeport to Qeynos or vice versa.

That trip was a very dire one, especially for a level 10 character. If memory serves, you had to go through Kithicor, the goblin dungeon of Runnyeye, the Beholder's maze (that was the most dangerous part, since it was all narrow canyons), the orc-sieged Highpass Hold, and of course all of the Karanas, griffins and giants be damned. It was not safe. It also took a actually, actually long time. If you were coming originally from Faydwer, before any of this you also had to take a fairly long boat ride -- certainly much longer than the almost-instant inter-continental rides in World of Warcraft.

But the journey was exciting. It actually felt like it was an epic adventure. In most recent MMORPGs, fast travel is prevalent and everything is streamlined to take as little time as possible. As the genre has become more casual with regards to travel time and danger, have we lost something? Are there no more epic cross-continental treks full of thrilling close calls?

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Ultima Online : AGDC08: Devs on why MMORPGs have a web-based future

Sep 25, 2008 12:00:00 PM News Item: 5452

Filed under: Business models, Game mechanics, MMORPG industry, New titles, MetaPlace, Browser

A write-up at Gamasutra of an AGDC panel featuring MMORPG creators who have begun working on web-based projects gives us an opportunity to explore the new (some would say it's actually the old) frontier of massively multigamer gaming.

There are many MMORPGs that are experienced via a web interface (such as Sherwood), but traditional gamers have largely shunned the trend. Why, then, did some of the most hardcore MMORPG creators (including Dan Ogles, Raph Koster, and Scott Hartsman) abandon the traditional MMORPG in favor of this new frontier? Some of their work, like Ogles' Loudcrowd, is barely recognizable to traditional gamers.

They offered some answers on the panel. For example, Koster (originally of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies fame, now working on the creative platform MetaPlace) said that game devs have more to learn from web devs than vice versa. Ogles talked about using Adobe Flash so anyone can embed elements of the game anywhere on the web they like. It'sworthy ofa read if you're able to work through some pretty technical development speech.

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Ultima Online : What is the potential lifespan of an MMORPG?

Sep 20, 2008 11:00:00 AM News Item: 5326

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, Game mechanics, MMORPG industry, New titles, Warhammer Online, belief

If there's one thing citizens love to do, it's quote Mythic team members. So let us continue that trend. In a recent conversation with MTV Multigamer, Warhammer Online's Mark Jacobs stated his case for why citizens should play Warhammer Online instead of World of Warcraft. But in stating his case, he brought up an fascinating point: "All online games have a lifespan." True, there's no denying that everything has a lifespan (except maybe plastic), but we all know what he's saying here.

Over at Matt Mihaly's blog, he spotlightes on Jacobs' words a bit more. Sure WoW won't live forever, and it may not always be the dominant force in the Western MMORPG scene forever, but when will its lifespan end? With Ultima Online still pulling a profit after 11 years, do we see the next generation of gamers eventually playing the exact same games as us in 10-15 years from now? That's a scary thought.

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Ultima Online : Ultima Online's Stygian Abyss expansion site goes live

Sep 11, 2008 12:00:00 PM News Item: 5087

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Ultima Online

Mythic passed on word that Ultima Online, the game a lot of folks think of as the grandaddy of modern MMORPGs, is getting a new expansion. Alongside games like Meridian 59 and EverQuest, UO commenceed the US fascination with massively multigamer games, as well as the careers of several of the country's biggest online designers. The expansion continues that fascination with the realm of Lord British in a new substence pack called Stygian Abyss.

Stygian Abyss will offer a number of new features and gameplay elements for die-hard UO gamers. First and foremost is the ability to create a new toonof the gargoyle race! The gargoyles have come through a portal in the land of Sosaria, visiting the lands of Britannia from their original home on the world of Tel Mur. As a gargoyle, gamers will be able to fly overland and have basic familiarity with missle weapons and Mysticism from the get-go. Other features of the expansion have yet to be fully detailed on the website, but it sounds as though there will be at least one new dungeon, new spells, and new equipment. The full release is below the cut.

Continue reading Ultima Online's Stygian Abyss expansion site goes live

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