Category Archives: Ultima Online

Lessons from the past: MMO combat

Posted on January 14, 2013 by SynCaine

Keen alerted me to a private version/server of Ultima Online, and due to extreme boredom I grabbed the client and messed around a bit. I have no intention of fully returning to UO, because to really get to the good … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Ultima Online | 11 Comments

Ultima Online dynamic content in alpha

Posted on October 12, 2012 by SynCaine

Another fun read about the early days of UO. I could read one of these every day forever. Funny that UO in alpha had more dynamic content than the, um, ‘mass market’ MMOs of today. Strange lack of dynamic centaurs … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Ultima Online | 2 Comments

Splitting the genre in two

Posted on September 27, 2012 by SynCaine

Let’s move past why GW2 sucks and onto a bigger topic; why so many recent MMOs suck, shall we? Chris thinks all MMOs are good for 3 months or less, and that’s just how things are today. Keen has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, SW:TOR, The Elder Scrolls Online, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 46 Comments

UO turns 15

Posted on September 25, 2012 by SynCaine

Good read from Raph about the early days of UO, which recently turned 15 years old. Which is likely older than the average age of today’s WoW players. Which is scary in many ways.

Posted in Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | Comments Off on UO turns 15

The MMO genre is a niche space, entry 25603

Posted on September 14, 2012 by SynCaine

“TSW was not buggier than, say, GW2. Nor did it lack things to do.” – tithian “Personally I found TSW to be sub-par in both combat and graphics, and far inferior to GW2 in game flow. In the beta the … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 11 Comments

EVE: A POS to call my home

Posted on September 10, 2012 by SynCaine

Another Jester-lead post for today (GW2 thoughts are brewing, but I can’t quite place my finger on them just yet. Something-something themepark though), this time about the next EVE expansion, and expansions/patches in general. Jester is worried that much like … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Housing, MMO design, Ultima Online | 6 Comments

GW2: Dead Centaurs

Posted on August 30, 2012 by SynCaine

One of the nice things about being in the initial wave of WAR players was seeing all of the PQs played out more or less as intended. Only the newbie zone PQs were heavily zerged, and even then at least … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online | 35 Comments

It’s not contagious, is it?

Posted on July 18, 2012 by SynCaine

Grade-A trolling folks. Just next level blogging at its finest. If we could get more of this kind of content and less D&D, Tobold might be worth reading again. After reading Tobold, go re-read EA Louse. It was great the … Continue reading →

Posted in Rant, RMT, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online | 14 Comments

How many IPs can Paul Barnett bury?

Posted on July 12, 2012 by SynCaine

When Paul ‘bears bears bears’ Barnett says the following: “We don’t put silly glass walls up, and we don’t keep poking you for cash; we just leave you alone,” we can safely assume Ultima Forever is going to come into your … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, Rant, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online | 18 Comments

Day-one mastery

Posted on June 29, 2012 by SynCaine

Keen has a nice post about why he is finding current-day MMOs lacking, especially in immersion. I think what Keen writes is something many (most?) MMO players feel, whether they actually know it or not. A major issue with MMOs … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, beta, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments