Friday, May 23, 2008

I Miss Ultima Online

Another "bleh" phase has hit me. The Age of Conan beta was mediocre for me, so I have passed on the launch. Sadly, many of my acquaintances seem to be fully enjoying it. I guess I missed the first "Miracle Patch" in MMO history.

World of Warcraft (WoW) has be bored again as well. It is somewhat fun to blaze through the levels on my Paladin by using a guide, but I just don't have the drive to do it for hours on end. I log in, knock out a quest, and log out. I completely understand that I could do "other things", but truthfully, WoW sucks when you are not level 70.

Other games hold my fancy: Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty 4, and of course Peggle. Yet, they are only time wasters when I have a few minutes.

That brings me to the point of this post. I miss Ultima Online.

I miss a completely non-instanced world that I can travel from one end to the other.
I miss having a world where most of what you see can be picked up, taken, or used in some fashion
I miss having a "backpack" that isn't just a set of inventory slots.
I miss massive dungeons that took forever to battle to the bottom of without a portal.
I miss random houses placed across the landscape wherever a free spot was open.
I miss my houses.
I miss Factions warfare, aside from the exploiters.
I miss possibly losing my horse, my gear, and my backpack full of items when I die.
I miss looting those that I have conquered.

This may sound like I want old-school UO back, but that is not the case. I want a new game, where the world is more than just combat. Where gear is something that is used, not obtained. A world, not just a game.

13 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:27 PM

    while my friends rave about AoC and go so far as to offer to buy it for me. i think soon they will be "bleh" about it once the "newness" wears off. I learned my lesson with Vanguard, these games are expensive both $ and time, and i do not want to waste either. I'll wait and see...and wow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agreed. I will likely join in on AoC soon just for the hell of it, but the heavy instancing (which neatly assists gate and spawn campers) is pretty annoying.

    Where is Darkfall when you need it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hear you man, I'm burnt out on fantasy MMOs at the moment... where is a good fantasy MMO that isn't the same damn thing over and over? I really just have no motivation to grind anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah, I'm a little bored too... Although Vanguard has a lot of what you're looking for, honestly. I've been playing that on and off lately.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, Vanguard does Cameron, but it still is a diku-inspired level-a-thon. I should of included:

    I miss a skills-based system.


    Which a lot of people wonder why I am not playing EVE Online. Unfortunately EVE is run by a bunch of loony bins, and requires far more hardcore time investment than any other game out there. Sure, you can play it casually, but its casual aspects are zero fun.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I couldn't agree more!

    Maybe Warhammer Online will bring back a sense of world?

    Keep up the great posts :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. WAR won't bring back that world feel completely, but then again that is not what is expected from WAR. WAR will create a "world" in the sense that actions have consequences that are visible to more than just a few people in an instance.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous3:08 PM

    Woho, Peggle!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't miss the whole idea of 'you can lose everything if you die' aspect of UO, but I do miss the thrills and agony provided by having a legitimate death penalty (AO's was particularily nasty...high risk/reward)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree Mark, but only if you are talking early UO, when death meant you could lose your house key and everything you've ever owned within it.

    However, later on, when you really only lost your gear and contents of your backpack, is what I truly miss.

    Why would I miss losing all my gear? Because gear in UO was something you USED, not something you ATTAINED. Losing gear was trivial if you packed light, but expensive if you packed heavy. Yet, not having super gear wasn't a huge detriment.

    That is the kind of gear system I like. I am getting very tired of the "work really really really hard" for a reward, and then when you get that reward you are so burned out that you never enjoy the fruits of your labor. Even though I know I will burn out getting a piece of gear, I still do it, but I don't know for how much longer.

    That is why I am excited about WAR, because even though I'll be working really hard for a piece of gear, the revolving content of the campaign system will ensure I am back using it in an activity I enjoy (aka RvR).

    ReplyDelete
  11. i passed on AOC as well - dont worry :]

    only because the beta was crap, and i am loving WoW at the moment (i cant understand why so many people are looking for a ticket out of WoW right now.)

    it seems that people are leaving WoW like lemmings. one person does it, then everyone else does. but then they realise that WoW is where they prefer, and come flooding back.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Unfortunately, Blizzard hasn't realized yet that they need enough developers working on content so they can release an expansion more often then every two years.

    It's probably because they are juggling Starcraft 2 and their new MMO project that WotLK is taking a lot longer then they initially expected. Luckily, Age of Conan is good enough to keep me busy until the winter when either Warhammer or WotLK will come out. I really don't care which one.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous8:55 AM

    I feel your pain. I have played SWG, WOW and Warhammer. There are still days that I reminiscence about UO. The tightness of your PVP guild. Friendly fire. Free to travel anywhere. By Far the best pvp game ever.

    ReplyDelete

Join the conversation; leave a comment!