Well, so much for UXO...
Wtcher Dragon
I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
as well, I suppose.
--
-==[UDIC]==-
http://www.fictionpress.com/~wtcher
Note: This post is composed of 100% post-consumer material.
This birdy likes no spam. :>
Ashikaga
> Wtcher Dragon wrote:
>
>>http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
>>
>>I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
>>cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
>>as well, I suppose.
>
> they'd end up doing this. Haven't heard much at all about UXO since then
> anyhow. OTOH, there has been a lot of new hires and dev talk about UO
> since the move to California.
It's kind of a stupid move, looking from an outsider's POV. I don't know
if company politics has anything to do with it.
--
Ashikaga Dragon de-NT- OM+++ U7'S89 u- uC uF-- uG+++
-== UDIC ==- uLB----uA+ nC++ nH+ nP+nI nPT- nS+++ nT--
Cats, Smile, Love wM----wC+ wI--- wN- z++ a26
Clemens Schmitz
> http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
> I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
> cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
> as well, I suppose.
I wonder what they are going to do with UO to make it competitive with
next generation MMOGs.
Anyway, good to see them finally announce this, I was already wondering
when they stopped updating the UXO webpages three months ago...
Clemens
factory
nospa...@ultima-dragons.org says...
> http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
>
> I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
> cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
> as well, I suppose.
I've seen someone comment before on how silly it is to
have a sequel to a MMOPRG, the argument being that
sequels are really crap compared to their prequel, less
content and less players are too mighty big negatives.
The perfect way is not never have a dividing line
between two games, just keep on expanding the old game
until it resembles the new game. Although, I would
think, that this places restrictions on where you can go
with sequels, changes to the gameplay that are too large
will piss off alot of ppl.
- Factory
Wtcher Dragon
> The perfect way is not never have a dividing line
> between two games, just keep on expanding the old game
> until it resembles the new game. Although, I would
> think, that this places restrictions on where you can go
> with sequels, changes to the gameplay that are too large
> will piss off alot of ppl.
Not to mention improbable to implement, due to technical issues.
However, that would otherwise be a good idea, I think.
Vulcan Dragon
<nospa...@ultima-dragons.org> wrote:
>http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
>
>I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
>cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
>as well, I suppose.
Well, starting new projects, spending millions on them, and then
cancelling them is a sure way to kill a company.
================================================
Vulcan Dragon -=(UDIC)=-
Lord of the Chicken Wings
Ashikaga
> Ashikaga wrote:
<snip>
>>It's kind of a stupid move, looking from an outsider's POV. I don't know
>>if company politics has anything to do with it.
>
> Corporate intern: "Why, great master?"
> Corporate suit: "Because we can maintain control and keep costs down!"
> Corporate intern: "You are so wise. Yes, look how the UO7 edition which is
> nothing more than U06 with U9 added is selling! It is for great profit!"
> Corporate suit: "Hmmm. Correct! As designed! In fact, why not close
> UXO since it has shown NO profit yet. We will concentrate on UO8!"
> Corporate intern: "You are so wise. I will do as you command."
> Corporate suit: *eyes glow with greed* "Yesss...PROFIT..." *drool*
LOL! I wonder where Origin people are in this case....
Adam Russell
"Vulcan Dragon" <mcar...@columbus.rr.com> wrote in message
news:ll19e0pftlgmni2da...@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 01 Jul 2004 05:18:44 GMT, Wtcher Dragon
> <nospa...@ultima-dragons.org> wrote:
>
> >http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
> >
> >I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
> >cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
> >as well, I suppose.
>
> Well, starting new projects, spending millions on them, and then
> cancelling them is a sure way to kill a company.
Wow. Early on I suspected this might happen, but recently started thinking
they had got on far enough that they might actually go all the way.
Dark Basic
news:MPG.1b4d3eaac...@news.telus.net...
> http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
>
> I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
> cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
> as well, I suppose.
I have to question the wisdom of naming the title "Ultima X Online" given
the fact that Ultima IX sucked even harder than Tracy Lords.
That said, I'm sure the good people at EA knew what they were doing... ;)
Teflon Mage
"Wtcher Dragon" <nospa...@ultima-dragons.org> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b4d3eaac...@news.telus.net...
> http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
good, the less the MMORPG market gets flooded the better
now lets hope Matrix Online flops out and MEO also
Reg LeCrisp
"Wtcher Dragon" <nospa...@ultima-dragons.org> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b4d3eaac...@news.telus.net...
>
> I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
> cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
> as well, I suppose.
Pretty piss poor management on EA/Origins part. This is the 2nd game they
started, literally investing hundreds of hours and money only to trash it.
UO2, UXO met similiar fates.
drocket
> Pretty piss poor management on EA/Origins part. This is the 2nd game they
>started, literally investing hundreds of hours and money only to trash it.
Hundreds of hours? A whole lot more than that, I'm sure. Just say
there was 10 programmers/artists working on the project, and they've
been working on it for a year now. 50 weeks per year (vacations, you
know) * 40 hours/week * 10 employees is 20,000 man-hours.
Its probably a good deal higher than that, though - it takes a whole
lotta people to make a MMORPG (programmers, artists, designers,
world-builders, quest-scripters, marketting people, management, etc,
etc), and I believe that its been in development for more than a year
(I believe that its been about a year since they announced the
project, and at that point they had quite a few in-game screenshots.)
I'm guessing that they probably spend $2-3 million on the project...
Wait, weren't they licensing the Unreal engine? Make that $4-5
million.
I can kind of understand a company funding a project, then canceling
it once for fear of it undermining their existing products. It seems
like they should have thought of that before they started but... hey,
everyone makes mistakes. To waste millions doing the exact same thing
AGAIN, though... That takes a special sort of company.
drocket
<nospa...@ultima-dragons.org> wrote:
>http://www.eagames.com/redesign/games/pccd/uxo/home.jsp
>
>I suspect that they canned it so to avoid cannibalizing their other cash
>cow (UO). I think that's why they cancelled UO2 way back when. It's just
>as well, I suppose.
EA: Making games for impoverished third-world contries using P90's
donated by charities since 2001
Andrew
>I'm guessing that they probably spend $2-3 million on the project...
>Wait, weren't they licensing the Unreal engine? Make that $4-5
>million.
I don't think they would have paid much to Epic to license the engine
for a game that didn't get published.
--
Andrew. To email unscramble n...@gurjevgrzrboivbhf.pbz & remove spamtrap.
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim messages to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking a question.
drocket
>I don't think they would have paid much to Epic to license the engine
>for a game that didn't get published.
I don't really know about Epic's licencing terms in specific, but for
most similar sort of software, it doesn't matter if the game gets
released or not. The reason is pretty simple: to prevent the base
code for the engine from spreading. If you let every Tom, Dick and
Harry get a copy of the code and only charging them if and when they
release a game, its going to wind up plastered everywhere on the web.
If a company has to pay $X million up-front, though, you're only going
to get truly interested companies who actually have money wanting a
copy.
Strider
> EA: Making games for impoverished third-world contries using P90's
> donated by charities since 2001
So what now, where do they go from here and what do I have to look
forward to from them?
Lynley James
Lots of licensed sports games.
Lynley
Icon
> I can kind of understand a company funding a project, then canceling
> it once for fear of it undermining their existing products. It seems
> like they should have thought of that before they started but... hey,
> everyone makes mistakes. To waste millions doing the exact same thing
> AGAIN, though... That takes a special sort of company.
Well, you don't really know how much of it is a waste. They might use
the licenced engine for another game, as well as many of the things
developed for the canned game might be carried over to another project.
Much of the artwork (3d models, textures etc.) might be sold to other
companies. I doubt that it like "ok, well lets bin EVERYTHING".
They just decided that their profit/loss would be better overall
cancelling the project now, and realising what assets they can
(including IP stuff) than continuing and releasing it in the end.
Michael Vondung
> I wonder what they are going to do with UO to make it competitive with
> next generation MMOGs.
Probably make it even more shallow. They lost me as a customer in 2002
(after five years of paying for two accounts) because they tried to
imitate other, newer games rather than sticking to Ultima's roots and
Koster's original design. I reactivated one account a couple of months
ago and was appaled by the changes. Cancelled it a week later again.
I've known Calandryll since he started working at OSI/EA, and was
actually curious to see his game design. Ah well, there goes the -only-
MMORPG I had been somewhat looking forward to. Le sigh.
M.
F-14 DUDE
the root of the Ultima universe (avatar) more than UO. I can't believe they
would abandon it for the 7 years old UO. I found it to be amusing since I
didn't even know there are still people playing it. Played UO for a bit but
got tired of the pker's rampage so I left and spend a years developing my
own server using UOX but kind of tire out of the whole game system. The
only thing I like about UO is the crafting and resource system. Oh well, at
least World of Warcraft is still on beta and hope to be out this fall.
Later!
"Wtcher Dragon" <nospa...@ultima-dragons.org> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b4d3eaac...@news.telus.net...
psz
"F-14 DUDE" <f14...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:6sBGc.29114$MT5....@nwrdny01.gnilink.net...
> Very interesting. I did have some interest with UXO since it would take
on
> the root of the Ultima universe (avatar) more than UO. I can't believe
they
> would abandon it for the 7 years old UO. I found it to be amusing since I
> didn't even know there are still people playing it. Played UO for a bit
but
> got tired of the pker's rampage so I left and spend a years developing my
> own server using UOX but kind of tire out of the whole game system. The
> only thing I like about UO is the crafting and resource system. Oh well,
at
> least World of Warcraft is still on beta and hope to be out this fall.
>
> Later!
At a consistant 250,000 users (A player base that hasn't really dwindled in
7 years) why WOULD they cancel it?
--
Darkling Dragon
--==(UDIC)==-- 3rd --==(UnSplut)==-- Member
\\\\\/////
Holder of two(2) Money Dragon Flame Points(TM)
"Time is a plaything... But if it
breaks, you're fucked"
p...@runuo.com
drocket
>At a consistant 250,000 users (A player base that hasn't really dwindled in
>7 years) why WOULD they cancel it?
Because it really hasn't grown in 7 years either. At first that
doesn't sound that bad, but you have to realize that to simply keep
that number constant, they're heavily relying on overseas markets
(especially in Asia.) Very little of UO's player base at this point
is in the US (when it was originally almost entirely US-based.) As
new gaming options have become available in the US, US gamers have
dumped UO like a hot potato for newer games. In time, the Asian
gamers are going to do the same when they have more options (beyond
the god-awful Lineage.)
psz
"drocket" <dro...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:kceme09nuvm0v0rpi...@4ax.com...
The US is still the number 1 market, with Asia second.
Since they already have EVERYTHING up and running, they have less costs, and
a consistant income (that went up last year), meaning they're actually MORE
profitable now (which is the important part)
Between the 7AE and the next Asian Expansion due out this winter, they stand
to make MORE money and potentially get new players.
Overall, they're spending less and making more with the same amount of
players. That's the best possible scenario ESPECIALLY for a game that old
(Too many new players == Hiring new staff, potentially buying new equipment,
etc, which cuts into profits)
Tor Iver Wilhelmsen
> The US is still the number 1 market, with Asia second.
That's because Asians play Lineage and Ragnarok instead.