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18 Years On, Ultima Online Is Still Going
An anonymous reader writes: Ultima Online was released in September, 1997. It was the game that popularized graphical MMOs, and somehow, it's still running. Rock, Paper, Shotgun took a dive into the game to see how much it's changed, and who still plays it. As the community has shrunk, it's become increasingly tight-knit, and giving up the game now means giving up a social circle for many players. Even though newer MMOs have eclipsed the game's functionality, UO has a dedication to the full adventuring experience that later games haven't replicated. From the article: "While initially I couldn't understand the appeal of Ultima, when I decided to shake off the limitations of an early level character and simply explore for myself, I found a game world with a lot to offer. Player created civilizations, unique monsters, and the sheer mystery of the world combine to keep this ancient MMO compelling. For all the ways in which the genre has improved, Ultima Online remains one of just a few MMOs that let you live an alternative life. That feeling of ownership ... combined with the diversity on offer, keeps players coming back day after day."
Do playing games like Ultima Online help with avoiding or treating the burnout that some programmers face due to the stresses of their jobs?
Today I read about the harrowing experience of one programmer. He wrote that
I'm currently in a state where I litterally just can't write code. At all. I get dizzy, headaches, I've even cried a few times just at the sight of my text editor.
and
A little over a month ago, only 3 years into the project, I blew up. One day I woke up, sat in front of my computer and broke up in tears. Called the boss to tell him I couldn't work for a few days. To this day I still can't code. I'm not even sure I will ever be able to code again either. For now I'm looking at applying for Walmart for an undetermined amount of time.
I know he is probably not alone. So when a programmer is in a similar situation, will playing an online game like Ultima Online help at all? Will it provide an escape and a way to relieve some of the stresses and burdens that have built up? Is participating in a MOOC a better idea?
A good shard (UO-speak for a custom server) would have great GMs regularly creating events for their players. I've played through a week-long monster invasion on Minoc, a war between Trinsic and Yew, a murder mystery involving 100+ players, and more custom "dungeon" areas than I can count. The last dungeon I remember was a play on Alice in Wonderland.
I haven't played UO in about 10 years, but custom shards gave hands down the best MMO experience I've ever seen even compared to current games.
Seriously? This game is still a pay to play kind of game?! The kind of servers needed to run this thing probably cost less than $50 per year. This guy could essentially run this thing in his basement with his home internet, come on now...
Trammel killed Ultima Online, ever since then the undead husk is trying and failing to metastasize first into EQ, then WoW. How many 3D clients have they aborted? Four? Five?
Now the same guy who killed UO with UO:R, went to kill off SWG with NG is begging for money on kickstarter to get new pay2win project going - Crofwall.
I'd never leave Ingress because all the players in my neighborhood are now my friends.
Besides, once you find a game you like, nothing, not even a really good knock off, is ever really quite the same.
Massively Multiplayer
Online
Role Playing Game
That's the initialism (it's not an acronym unless you pronounce it like a word.. Mumorpuguh?). But those words aren't what we should be talking about. The magic is in MASSIVE gaming experiences. MMOs fell far short of being anything more than the logical extension of MUDs and their kin. We keep building out and optimizing in a line forward from those expectations.
At the same time, that polish means we increasingly cast off the quirky, unique, or memorable experiences that the older MMOs did provide (even if they did so mostly by accident).
Here's a lecture from some years ago on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I still stand by everything I said then.
GeekNights!
Late Night Radio for Geeks!
Here, let me quote TFS to you:
... combined with the diversity on offer, keeps players coming back day after day."
"I found a game world with a lot to offer. Player created civilizations, unique monsters, and the sheer mystery of the world combine to keep this ancient MMO compelling. For all the ways in which the genre has improved, Ultima Online remains one of just a few MMOs that let you live an alternative life. That feeling of ownership
Does that help, or should someone post an mp3 of themselves reading it for you?
One UO Freeshard I play has animal breeding. You can tame and then breed animals to get more powerful pets which you can then use to take down monsters in the dungeons.
I bred cows all the way to "max." My cows slaughter dragons with ease.
Breeding cows in UO turns out to be tricky. See, there's a bug: cows and bulls can't breed together, they're considered separate animal types. But all cows are female, so cows can't breed with cows either. You first have to magically transform some of the cows to the male gender before you can breed them. And it takes 20 to 30 generations to breed an animal like cows up to the game's max.
Thus I refer to my cows as "Daemonic Transgender Inbred Battle Cattle."
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
"but obviously they have an unprecedented staying power in the game industry that no other game has had."
Because they were well made, diablo 1+2 were made back before the AAA cash in or "make every game a movie" like call of duty 4 modern warfare took off into full swing.
I've found that EQ1 is still pretty good... but you have two choices:
Play on a timelocked server, where there is relatively not that much content... but it winds up grindy.
Play on a regular server and get your levels and AAs so you can group/raid.
Timelocked servers have nostalgia value... but it might be too slow and quirky for someone new, and one can wind up hitting a dead-end (can't really solo, no groups), especially when the newness wears off.
There are also plenty of other MMOs still around. DAoC is still twitching, DDO, Neverwinter, and LOTRO are still going. Rift is still an alternate to WoW (except minus the mini-game of garrisons [1])
IMHO, what kills MMOs for me are the cash shops. Daybreak does it right -- you can buy gewgaws, pets, mounts, and bags... but other than XP potions, there isn't anything that can affect game play. Rift, on the other hand, I wound up pulling my sub for good (I used to subscribe yearly) because people just hit the shop, and buy a set of raid-tier armor. Rift was great in customization, but the fact that you can toss cash and wind up with all the endgame stuff has put the game into the same category as the junk (IMHO) F2P/P2W "MMOs" found on Android and iOS.
[1]: Oddly enough, the garrison mini-game is one of the nice things about WoW. Cycle missions on alts in the morning, cycle missions later on, and they wind up at a point where they can still run the circus of LFRs, if not normals.
http://www.sluggy.com/comics/a...
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
The problem arises when you make bad associations over the years.
Your brain is an association engine - it silently catalogs all the feelings you get when doing something, and uses this information for prediction in the planning [brain] section.
Over the years, you've built up associations between programming and discomfort in various forms. Now, when you consider going to do some program, your brain automatically recalls all the pain and discomfort that this brings.
The planning section uses the risk/reward equation, and there's usually other values to consider. Normally, the "value" you get from programming is enough to outweigh the discomfort you get. You get rewards for doing it, like interacting with people, figuring out problems, and so on. Getting money is more of an intellectual reward - there's no "feeling" associated with money per-se. (Unless you're Scrooge McDuck and feel joy over just having money. Most people aren't like that.)
Over time, the negative value of the discomfort has grown, relative to the positive value you get from completing goals, learning new things, or social interactions.
It's the same as a lathe operator who gets back pain from stooping over all day long. He'll eventually get tired of doing something he once loved, even if he doesn't remember the pain.
It's *very* difficult to reverse this. You have to build up positive associations, and enough of these to compensate for the negative history.
You can try adjusting your work environment ergonomically: make it more physically comfortable to type, for instance.
You can try getting into a new field: switch from web work to microcontrollers, for instance.
You can try switching to a new environment: shop your resume around, and join a small company with a manager/people you really like.
You can try rewarding yourself for completing goals: promise yourself a slice of pie if you complete such-and-so task today. (Make sure you realize "this pie is because I completed such-and-so" task while you're eating it.)
You can try taking a vacation, but that won't fix the underlying problem.
Good luck!
UO was the best mmorpg until EQ came out. EQ was the best mmorpg until WoW came out. WoW has been the best mmorpg ever since. Even though I never played it I know that SWTOR also received much love and is right up there with these 3. We won't see a mmorpg to beat WoW until someone launches an MMORPG on the VR platform. This is especially true for anyone that played some combination of the aforementioned 4 MMORPGs. The nostalgia of each of these games in their time will never be beaten by another MMORPG on the desktop platform - only with new technology will these legends be overcome and a new king take the throne.
Were you not paying attention? I have mad cows. Plural.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
I wonder if there is still someone out there running the world's last Meridian 59 server.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
because it's still wildly popular in Japan. The US shards are, as the author notes, virtually complete ghost towns. I recently went back for a month, and other than banksitters in Luna or house collapses I'd literally go days without seeing another player.
There are also plenty of other MMOs still around.
Yeah, try Darkfall.
For all its faults, UO is one of the few, maybe only MMO that you don't have to slaughter everything, to progress. It is also the rare game you can design your own house. There was The Sims Online, but that is gone now.
Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
tell that to all the people who play nethack.
when religion is no longer the opiate of the masses, governments will resort to real opiates.
It was great at the time, but I could never really go back to D1 after playing through D2. It's maddening that there is no "run" button.