I miss original ultima online

[mizzou]

The original UO was amazing. Once they broke it off into "PVP" world and "Cupcake" world it was horribly uninteresting to me.

I loved being able to go out of town, and worry about what might happen to me. There were no reigns and little punishments for those who preyed on people, and little reward for those who defended people.

My favorite moment had to have been a day when I get ganked outside of a town, lost all my stuff, along with some other newbs, then went into town and rallied some veteran players to come to our aid and clean out the bandits.

This sort of mechanic just doesn't happen anymore in any MMO I've ever played since, and I can't figure out why it's not there. I think it's part of the reason why UO shot to such huge success and then kind of tapered off after the 3d MMO's came out.

Eventually though I guess, everyone is a "veteran" player, and it makes it much harder to live among newbs and elders on such a small map where the only thing that really seperates you from skill are certain dungeons.

Games like WoW put you in your own little newb area and generally discourage any travel outside of those areas until you are ready. The original UO, well, you could do anything you damn well pleased. But you had a pretty good chance of getting killed


Anyone else feel this way about the MMO mechanic? Why constrain player will so much?

I love the social aspect of MMO games and honestly, thats why I get so uninterested in them. You aren't being social by ganging up on AI to get skills. And I'm not impressed with the PVP battles that do take place. What is the fun in bringing a battle to someone in their "battle zone"? I want to bring the battle home...to where people feel most vulnerable.

That's when things get really interesting!

 

[mizzou]

Just want to add, I was an original UO beta tester and boy that stuff blew your mind back then. Played it up until they split the servers from PVP to Safe Zones. I tried and tried to get back into it but it just sucked. Safe zones were so boring. PVP zones were so one dimensional

 

[drebo]

The thing that most set UO apart before UO:R was a virtual lack of artificial restrictions. No other MMO since has had this. What this meant was that you could go anywhere, attempt anything, train any skills, equip everything, and basically do anything you wanted to. This is what I miss the most. If you were good enough at it, you could steal from people right at the bank. You could kill people in less populated parts of town. You could become a murderer. You could try to summon a deamon with 0 magery skill. You could equip your mage with a sweet looking axe if you wanted to. There were no limits to how you could build your character. There were no limits to what you could do to other players. As such, players had to police themselves, and it was great.

I was not a PK. I wasn't a member of a huge guild that hunted PKs. I was just an average player that liked the freedom UO offered, and I like the atmosphere that the game offered...you could never be sure of anything, and it was great fun. Modern MMOs are single player games at the core. Games with instancing, games with "lobbies", games where you're shuffled linearly around the map...they're not fun.

 

[mizzou]

Originally posted by: drebo
The thing that most set UO apart before UO:R was a virtual lack of artificial restrictions. No other MMO since has had this. What this meant was that you could go anywhere, attempt anything, train any skills, equip everything, and basically do anything you wanted to. This is what I miss the most. If you were good enough at it, you could steal from people right at the bank. You could kill people in less populated parts of town. You could become a murderer. You could try to summon a deamon with 0 magery skill. You could equip your mage with a sweet looking axe if you wanted to. There were no limits to how you could build your character. There were no limits to what you could do to other players. As such, players had to police themselves, and it was great.

I was not a PK. I wasn't a member of a huge guild that hunted PKs. I was just an average player that liked the freedom UO offered, and I like the atmosphere that the game offered...you could never be sure of anything, and it was great fun. Modern MMOs are single player games at the core. Games with instancing, games with "lobbies", games where you're shuffled linearly around the map...they're not fun.

My sentiments exactly.

I was really excited when ARMAII came out because in the original ARMA there is a modification called "ARMA RPG" where basically you start off as a civilian or a cop, and you are free reign to do whatever you want. There are jobs, you can make money off businesses, you can steal and sell coke, be a legit policeman, be a evil policemen, just go buy a bomb and freaking blow up whatever you want, like a player manned police barracade. It is so much fun.

Problem though, LAG, and lack of players. It is only fun for so long w/ at most like 15 people =(.

Could not imagine it though with a whole persistent world. Damn that would be a money maker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGdwNZBmQmI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3qddXYXYq8

 

[Nebor]

Easily the best game and best MMO I ever played. I wish I could find something that addicted me and inspired me to play as much as UO did. I would wake up early on Saturdays to go chop wood so I could make bows. And anything could happen while I was out there chopping wood. Sometimes I'd get killed by monsters, sometimes I'd get killed by people, sometimes I'd simply get robbed by people. I get all misty eyed and nostalgic thinking about how wonderful UO was, right up to the day that they split the worlds.

 

[masterxfob]

i've never gotten into the whole mmo thing, but if i had to choose one, the original would be my choice. watched my cousin play it once in a while and it fun just to watch

 

[Arglebargle]

I watched my friends play UO and Everquest, and thought, 'this sucks', and wrote off MMOs for 5 or so years.

As opposed to great game design, I think they just didn't know what they were doing when they started UO up. I know they didn't. I think some of you are suffering from first-love nostalgia as well.

However, I don't disagree with your idea that someone should be doing something like this, for a niche game. Might do well, though you are talking a smaller market game. I know I probably would not be one of the subscribers though.

 

[Fingolfin269]

UO was so bad I kept playing MUDs.

 

[BrownShoes]

I loved UO back in the day.
I had a little tower and graduated to a large manse during one of the expansions.

 

[QuantumPion]

Originally posted by: drebo
You could try to summon a deamon with 0 magery skill.

No no, each spell circle had a minimum requirement. I seem to remember the ability to cast recall had a minimum of like 40% in magic to cast, but that was with a 90% failure rate. You needed 60% magic to cast it reliably. To cast 9th level spells you needed a minimum of like 80 something and over 95 to cast reliably.

 

[QuantumPion]

Originally posted by: mizzou
Just want to add, I was an original UO beta tester and boy that stuff blew your mind back then. Played it up until they split the servers from PVP to Safe Zones. I tried and tried to get back into it but it just sucked. Safe zones were so boring. PVP zones were so one dimensional

Same here. UO was way better than WoW in so many ways. No levels. No classes. No soulbound equipment. In fact, hardly any magic equipment period (and magic items were mostly just for showing off at the bank anyways).

It was grindy at first, when you needed to mine or chop all day long to get some starting funds, and whack at a guild mate for a few hours to max out your combat skills. But getting fully armed and armored with competent magic and magic resistance only took one-two days tops starting from scratch.

PVP was brutal, especially since you actually lost skill points and all your items on your corpse when you died. So there was a real fear of dying and an actual profit in murder. But if you had a crafting character it's not a big deal to just buy another spell book, reg bag, and regular quality armor set.

UO also had the most intricate and real economy that makes the WoW auction house players look like rank amateurs.

There were no raids or daily quests. Just exploring, economy, and occasional dungeon romps and guild wars. Man I miss UO.

 

[Saulbadguy]

My daily routine in UO:

Log in, gate to Trammel, recall to the "Wall area" of Dungeon Deceit. lol at the noobs for a bit, head down to the lich lord room, use my ultra l337 hiding skill to shut the door when people tried to escape the wrath of the Silver Serpent, wait 7 minutes, LOOT!

 

[QuantumPion]

Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
My daily routine in UO:

Log in, gate to Trammel, recall to the "Wall area" of Dungeon Deceit. lol at the noobs for a bit, head down to the lich lord room, use my ultra l337 hiding skill to shut the door when people tried to escape the wrath of the Silver Serpent, wait 7 minutes, LOOT!

I liked opening gates at the bank to those one-square sized islands in the middle of the ocean. If they couldn't cast recall they had to page a GM to get brought back, which took days lol. Griefing noobs ftw

 

[40Hands]

Vas Corp Por

*runs*



LOVED the game. Agree with points in the OP. Too bad people couldn't handle the heat.


One thing I used to do back in the day with my thief is to put on full bone armor minus the helm, death robe, a few heath pots, and a quarterstaff. I'd go outside, throw a purple potion at a vendor (when you could do this) and it would flag me as a criminal. Go back into town and find someone and start peeking into their pack over and over. (usually the best time if I could find a role player type but any idiot would do) They would get nervous and usually run but most of the times I could get them to attack me since I was flagged. I would then (hopefully) beat them down with my quarterstaff and be free to loot them while they OoooOooooOOoooo all over the place. :laugh:

God that game was so much fun.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: QuantumPion

Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
My daily routine in UO:

Log in, gate to Trammel, recall to the "Wall area" of Dungeon Deceit. lol at the noobs for a bit, head down to the lich lord room, use my ultra l337 hiding skill to shut the door when people tried to escape the wrath of the Silver Serpent, wait 7 minutes, LOOT!

I liked opening gates at the bank to those one-square sized islands in the middle of the ocean. If they couldn't cast recall they had to page a GM to get brought back, which took days lol. Griefing noobs ftw

We really brought it on ourselves didnt we? Magic traps were worth a good laugh. Place a box down and watch some nub try to open it, blowup, and the people at the bank loot his corpse faster than pirahna can clean a a deer carcass.

 

[Saulbadguy]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: QuantumPion

Originally posted by: Saulbadguy
My daily routine in UO:

Log in, gate to Trammel, recall to the "Wall area" of Dungeon Deceit. lol at the noobs for a bit, head down to the lich lord room, use my ultra l337 hiding skill to shut the door when people tried to escape the wrath of the Silver Serpent, wait 7 minutes, LOOT!

I liked opening gates at the bank to those one-square sized islands in the middle of the ocean. If they couldn't cast recall they had to page a GM to get brought back, which took days lol. Griefing noobs ftw

We really brought it on ourselves didnt we? Magic traps were worth a good laugh. Place a box down and watch some nub try to open it, blowup, and the people at the bank loot his corpse faster than pirahna can clean a a deer carcass.

I actually had a box permanently trapped with Level 5 poison.

 

[SpunkyJones]

UO was great, I was always a bit nervous and excited whenever I left the city, because you never knew what would happen to you. I never get that same sense of danger in WOW.

 

[MStele]

I agree I miss UO also, but I don't miss the 2D engine. I hope they get around to making a real sequel with top notch 3D engine, but with all the freedom of the original.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

what other game lets you kill the creator of the game while he's giving a speech.

http://gmtristan.com/the-man-who-killed-lord-british/

 

[Beev]

UO was one of the few MMOs I didn't play actually, but its subscriptions peaked at 250,000. Not exactly anything to write home about.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: M0oG0oGaiPan
what other game lets you kill the creator of the game while he's giving a speech.

http://gmtristan.com/the-man-who-killed-lord-british/

Buddy was part of a group of guys who killed a black robed GM one night. They had the robe for awhile until the GMs got it back. I was actually surprised they couldnt just go in and take it back but actually tracked him down.

 

[drebo]

Originally posted by: Beev
UO was one of the few MMOs I didn't play actually, but its subscriptions peaked at 250,000. Not exactly anything to write home about.

People cite this all the time, but what they don't realize when they do cite this is that UO came before its time. Back then, not as many people had an internet connection. UO was a path-setter, and a game that would have done exceptionally well had it not been the first mass-market MMO.

Hell, I think it DID do exceptionally well for its time. The percentage of total online gamers that it claimed was enormous.

 

[MStele]

Originally posted by: drebo

Originally posted by: Beev
UO was one of the few MMOs I didn't play actually, but its subscriptions peaked at 250,000. Not exactly anything to write home about.

People cite this all the time, but what they don't realize when they do cite this is that UO came before its time. Back then, not as many people had an internet connection. UO was a path-setter, and a game that would have done exceptionally well had it not been the first mass-market MMO.

Hell, I think it DID do exceptionally well for its time. The percentage of total online gamers that it claimed was enormous.

I second that. Your talking about a time when most people were still playing over modems and MMOs weren't even mainstream yet. 250,000 is considered a success today, and back then it was unheard of.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: MStele

Originally posted by: drebo

Originally posted by: Beev
UO was one of the few MMOs I didn't play actually, but its subscriptions peaked at 250,000. Not exactly anything to write home about.

People cite this all the time, but what they don't realize when they do cite this is that UO came before its time. Back then, not as many people had an internet connection. UO was a path-setter, and a game that would have done exceptionally well had it not been the first mass-market MMO.

Hell, I think it DID do exceptionally well for its time. The percentage of total online gamers that it claimed was enormous.

I second that. Your talking about a time when most people were still playing over modems and MMOs weren't even mainstream yet. 250,000 is considered a success today, and back then it was unheard of.

I remember many a time my dial up connection getting bumped off while I was in the LL room or at the bone wall and letting out a Darth Vader style "NOOOOOOOO!" :laugh:

 

[mizzou]

lol

Reading all these is making me nostalgic. I remember starting to try and PK people who were "grey" so that way I wouldn't go criminal, a vareity of wierd things would make you grey (accidentally trying to hit a AI during a fight, etc.) But sometimes i felt so damn bad after killing someone I would almost always return their stuff to them, especially if it was a bag PACKED with nice reagents, armor, gold, etc.

I was a horrible criminal lol