New Richard Garriot Ultima Game on Kickstarter!

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MarkLuvsCS

Senior member
Jun 13, 2004
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*Update 3/19* Kickstarter goal has been surpassed!

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues

This was posted on March 8th, and I'm a little surprised I haven't seen it on the forums yet. It reached half it's goal in the day it's been up. I believe they can't use Ultima in the title since EA owns that franchise name now.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/portalarium/shroud-of-the-avatar-forsaken-virtues-0

The story concepts of the game honestly seems to be what Ultima Online 2 was originally supposed to be. This story seems to take place with the start of a new era for the Ultima series combining Magic and Science elements. The freedom and depth of Ultima Online seems to be expanded in this game.

IMO the engine already looks 'good enough' for the game if the gameplay is going to be similar to UO. The textures and designs of the world have a good scale to them, and it already looks pretty good with prealpha art assets.

I've always said it'd be worth the risk if Richard Garriot wanted to make a new Ultima game, and so I've backed it with high hopes. Hopefully some of you will join me on the new adventure of the Avatar :).
 
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smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
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86
Sadly, this doesn't look like it's on the Ultima IP. I know EA owns it, except for Lord British. But just having a similar experience to what made the previous Ultima games amazing has me putting my money up. I don't usually support KickStarter stuff, but I don't want to not see this game made. Ultima Online was a huge part of gaming life and did so many things games today, especially MMOs, are still behind the curve in.
 
TheSlamma

TheSlamma

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
7,625
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Gonna wait for a kickstarter title to make it out first before pumping any money into these.
 
Plimogz

Plimogz

Senior member
Oct 3, 2009
678
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This looks promising. Hopefully getting back to his fantasy roots will rinse the bad taste that Tabula Rasa left in my mouth. The man certainly knows how to make good, incredibly broad games.

I am a little perplexed as to how he proposes to mix a persistent online world (which will apparently contain villages and towns with player housing) and solo/offline play. The kickstarter page really doesn't have enough information -- though I suppose that it's to be expected if the game is in an extremely early state.

With that said, I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more of a "This will be Ultima Online 2.0!!!" vibe to the kickstarter. Because I could sooo get behind a modern, revamped and expanded UO. And going by the pretty small numbers given about the amount of housing lots available to players, this one doesn't sound like it's being built to be massively multiplayer.
 
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smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
Plimogz said:
This looks promising. Hopefully getting back to his fantasy roots will rinse the bad taste that Tabula Rasa left in my mouth. The man certainly knows how to make good, incredibly broad games.

I am a little perplexed as to how he proposes to mix a persistent online world (which will apparently contain villages and towns with player housing) and solo/offline play. The kickstarter page really doesn't have enough information -- though I suppose that it's to be expected if the game is in an extremely early state.

With that said, I'm a little disappointed that there isn't more of a "This will be Ultima Online 2.0!!!" vibe to the kickstarter. Because I could sooo get behind a modern, revamped and expanded UO. And going by the pretty small numbers given about the amount of housing lots available to players, this one doesn't sound like it's being built to be massively multiplayer.
Click to expand...
Garriot has stated he would love to get EA to allow him to make another Ultima Online.

From what I gather, this is a single player RPG that allows others to integrate in and out of your world.
 
Plimogz

Plimogz

Senior member
Oct 3, 2009
678
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smackababy said:
Garriot has stated he would love to get EA to allow him to make another Ultima Online.

From what I gather, this is a single player RPG that allows others to integrate in and out of your world.
Click to expand...

But I don't quite understand how EA owning the Ultima IP would prevent him from making something like the spiritual successor to UO. I mean, surely EA don't own the rights to any and all MMO fantasy games. Maybe there are some hardcore fans of the series who wouldn't get behind a game which didn't exist within the sphere of Ultima lore, but for my part I really couldn't care less so long as it is the same vision carving out the machanics of economy and character development in a new fantasy setting.

The largely player run economy, the classless character system, the awesome shard-wide world events, the near-endless grind to GM blacksmith, the zoneless countryside which ran seamlessly from largely deserted corners of Britannia to the lag-ridden surroundings of the first bank of Britain to the depths of Covetous,... Ah, to be exploring it all for the first time again with a cloth map at my side... And the corpse runs, what can I say about the corpse runs...

Damn it Garriot! just hire some fantasy writers, remake the thing from your notes, skin it in new lore and graphics and expand on what made it one of the defining moments in online gaming.
 
T

TechAZ

Golden Member
Sep 8, 2007
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Markbnj said:
There is in fact an existing thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2305870
Click to expand...

I agree with your thoughts in that thread. I don't believe multi-millionaires should be able to get kickstarter funding. On the other hand, I want games to be made for the neglected gamers. If some great older style more difficult and more complex games get made...then I'm conflicted about how they were made but happy to not have a dumbed down experience.
 
P

Pantlegz

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2007
4,627
4
81
smackababy said:
Garriot has stated he would love to get EA to allow him to make another Ultima Online.

From what I gather, this is a single player RPG that allows others to integrate in and out of your world.
Click to expand...

Will this be a MMO? Can I play with my friends?
Yes, you will be able to play with your friends! Multiplayer games encourage social bonds that go far beyond what can be accomplished in a solo player game. I remember the depth of these bonds in players who met in-game only to get married in real life, how people who died in the real world were deeply mourned and celebrated by their online friends whom they may never have met face to face. Though Shroud of the Avatar won’t be a massively multiplayer online role playing game, it will be a multiplayer game. We will be describing this in more detail in our upcoming community blogs.
Last updated: Friday Mar 8, 1:02pm EST
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
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www.markbetz.net
TechAZ said:
I agree with your thoughts in that thread. I don't believe multi-millionaires should be able to get kickstarter funding. On the other hand, I want games to be made for the neglected gamers. If some great older style more difficult and more complex games get made...then I'm conflicted about how they were made but happy to not have a dumbed down experience.
Click to expand...

Honestly, the main thing for me is that I doubt he's going to pull it off. This seems a lot like Chris Crawford and "Storytron." Yeah, Garriot has a star's reputation in gaming, but things have changed. There's a reason why games have been getting more and more dumbed-down at the interface, and in the mechanics. The PC as a market is shrinking, and he's going to have to make this fly on consoles and probably touch devices right out of the gate.
 
SunnyD

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
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www.neftastic.com
Markbnj said:
Honestly, the main thing for me is that I doubt he's going to pull it off. This seems a lot like Chris Crawford and "Storytron." Yeah, Garriot has a star's reputation in gaming, but things have changed. There's a reason why games have been getting more and more dumbed-down at the interface, and in the mechanics. The PC as a market is shrinking, and he's going to have to make this fly on consoles and probably touch devices right out of the gate.
Click to expand...

This game is all about Garriott "getting back to his roots." He's not going to touch consoles or mobile devices at all. It's all PC, it's a homecoming for the Ultima universe, and it's all (supposed to be) about what made the Ultima series popular.
 
Markbnj

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
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SunnyD said:
This game is all about Garriott "getting back to his roots." He's not going to touch consoles or mobile devices at all. It's all PC, it's a homecoming for the Ultima universe, and it's all (supposed to be) about what made the Ultima series popular.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, but the world of his roots doesn't exist anymore. To make the game he's envisioning, at a quality level competitive with current industry standards, would take more investment than he can get from Kickstarter, and more than he can get back from PC-only sales. He'll end up getting sucked down the same path Wright did on Spore.

I would love to play what he's describing. But I wouldn't invest in it.
 
SunnyD

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
146
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www.neftastic.com
Markbnj said:
Yeah, I know, but the world of his roots doesn't exist anymore. To make the game he's envisioning, at a quality level competitive with current industry standards, would take more investment than he can get from Kickstarter, and more than he can get back from PC-only sales. He'll end up getting sucked down the same path Wright did on Spore.

I would love to play what he's describing. But I wouldn't invest in it.
Click to expand...

There's a reason Tabula Rasa's design was scrapped in full no less than twice before the game that came out actually was settled upon. It was originally supposed to be a sci-fi fantasy, not a shooter/adventure.

You also have to realize that this is Garriott. He's a master storyteller, and that includes his sales pitches. Fortunately, we're at a place in computing technology where he can do just about everything he wants to versus what happened with Ultima IX. The tools are out there, trust me. He's overpromising, yes. But that's what Lord British always does.

Still, this should be the bones of the Ultima series for the modern age. That alone is what everybody should be betting on.
 
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skydiverz

Junior Member
Mar 10, 2013
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Please don't be a Duke Nukem. Please don't be a Duke Nukem! The PC gaming world needs another stellar title from the Lord we call British!
 
SMOGZINN

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,225
4,461
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SunnyD said:
Still, this should be the bones of the Ultima series for the modern age. That alone is what everybody should be betting on.
Click to expand...

I just hope that he focus on the things that made the old Ultima series great and does not get too caught up in making some kind of multiplayer fantasy village simulator.
 
Y

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
6,103
1,217
126
Isn't this a MMO? I mean he talks about 'adding' to the wrold for the life of the game. I just don't see how this is a single player experience.
 
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