Originally posted by Respit

I will have to stand behind you on UO in the #1 spot. 

Another EA blunder I would like to see remade and that is Earth & Beyond. I was just getting into the game when EA hit it with the Out-of-NoWhere-Axe-of-Banishment for OVER 9000!!! 

Heck and to a lesser degree, Motor City Online.

That is pretty much what I was going to say. Want to know why UO has never been properly remade? two little letters... E.A.

I also second the vote for Earth & Beyond. Although the genre is being flooded a bit, back then it was one of few games to delve into outer space. If someone took the IP and developed it the way it should have been from the beginning, I would go back to it without a seconds thought...

I also fully agree with AO, and no I don't think the engine upgrade is going to be enough. Though I am really not sure that they are willing to pump more into it what with AoC out and TSW in development now.

Originally posted by Oyjord

I TOTALLY agree with UO, AO, and DAoC.  There are, arguably, the best MMOs of their time, but in serious need of updating.  I'd resub to any of the three should they get revamped.

PS:  For the love of all things holy, breaking this tiny blog entry down into 3 pages just to get more hits/ad revenue is a slimy tactic.  There was enough content for ONE page, not three.  Please don't be slimy.

We don't do it to be slimy, we do it because at nearly 4,000 words that thing would be an epic scroll bar and it's very easy to lose your place in an article like that.

Generally we break pages every 1200 or so words, which is normally not an issue since most articles run 1200 or less.

UO and DAOC, obvious choices. In that order.

It's amazing that no one's made a sandbox that's as much as a sandbox as the original. We've had a few others, but really, even the big ones like EVE and classic SWG are themeparks compared to UO.

And DAOC, a few have tried to borrow the RvR idea, but they always muck it up by changing it too much. It's like RvR, except only two realms? Or RvR, except without the well developed PvE? Or three realms, but they're all thrown together Gaheris-like? Wth?

The other three? Meh, whatever.

Excellent article, i was actually having a talk with some people just yesterday on why they havent made a UO sequel, amazes me too.

Asheron's Call is a definite remake for me. I'd pay good money to play Asheron's Call with some updated graphics, sounds, etc. It was my first graphic MMO and the first MMO that I had any responsibility in (GM).

Originally posted by moozaad

In no particular order

 

Auto assault (good game but launch shadowed by WoW iirc)

Planetside

EvE online (maybe something realtime and physics based this time around?)

UO!

There already making planetside 2.

Originally posted by Artaryl

I'm surprised, I would have actually though that Shadowbane would be in here as well. With the proper technology, that game would have rocked the PvP market. It had great potential for both the system and the graphics but at least the graphics would need a rework and better servers so city siege could go smoother and be much more enjoyable.

I would like to disagree on City of Heroes, I don't think a revamp would help it more. The game has already got a sequel that remained in the same style and I think NCSoft can push updates to keep the game going and change it.

I agree with you.  Replace CoH with SB.  It is still going and was truly epic in its prime.  It deperately needs a serious graphics overhaul and class balancing instead of new classes that imbalance everything (good game pre-vamp).

I played all the games on this list.  UO got me hooked, AC (true love) and DAoC kept me for 5 years.  AO was fun but the graphics make your eyes bleed no matter how much you love content over graphix.

Good article.  Not many worth reading here usually, but this one got my attention.

Pre-CU SWG should have made the list somewhere but only if it was remade by somebody other than SOE.

Great List  And for those who mention AC2, It really was nothing like the original AC.  It was more like SWG and the NGE, a completely different beast altogether.   The magic system in AC that was mentioned was a journey itself.  At the beginning you would find tons of people standing around reagent vendors just spamming combinations trying to discover spells. I do wish they were really able to implement the "the more people using the spell the weaker it becomes overall" Idea.  I'm not sure if they did or not, I never noticed a lowering in power, but if it had been working there probably wouldn't have been all the spell creation calculators out there and people really would have hoarded their spells.

Originally posted by Gabby-air

Originally posted by moozaad

In no particular order

 

Auto assault (good game but launch shadowed by WoW iirc)

Planetside

EvE online (maybe something realtime and physics based this time around?)

UO!

 

There already making planetside 2.

I'll believe it when I see it. Its not even past the design stage yet.

Makes some interesting points, my one confusion is why is Mythic being spoken of as if it were still its own entity? It was purchased by EA and merged with Bioware specifically to handle the server needs of ToR.

It's a good list.  I really want to see an AC1 and DAOC sequel.  Turbine and Mythic both have the capabilities to make true sequels of these 2 games, I don't know what it'll take to get them to do it.

And no, AC2 wasn't  a true sequel to AC1, WAR isn't a true sequel to DAOC, just as EQ2 isn't a true sequel to EQ1.  Please MMO developers, we want original gameplay but with better graphics, better engine, and updated features.   When you change the gameplay too much, it becomes a totally different game.  Kinda like movie directors that change sequels too much from the original and end up bombing at the box office.

I'd pay quite a steep subscription fee for a remake of Shadowbane.

Play to crush bitch.

Good article, Dana. I really enjoyed reading it.

I would, however, have included Guild Wars in the list.

Yes, I know all about Guild Wars 2, and it sounds like it's going to be a great game. BUT... while Guild Wars 2 is a "remake" of Guild Wars, it is a remake that -- very sadly, in my opinion -- cuts out the single best feature of the original Guild Wars game: customizable henchmen that you can use when your friends and guildmates are not online or that you can use to complete a party if you can't find enough people for a particular dungeon or mission.

I would really like to see a quality party-based MMO (Atlantica Online is totally not it!) in which you can play with a small group composed of either NPCs, players, or any combination of both.

Only Guild Wars had a feature like this; I really felt the concept still had a lot of life left in it. :(

On the horizon, GW2 and SWTOR offer 1 henchman apiece, which is ... OK, I guess, but this is not nearly as good as what Guild Wars had to offer. STO, alone among the upcoming MMOs, offers anything close to a feature like this, with its customizable NPC crews.

Good article I pretty much agree. UO remakes have been tried twice, bottom line the idiot money-men murdered both of them in the crib. Loved AC back in the beginning, would love to see that re-done without the massive changes they tried and failed with in AC2. Lot of potential out there for a company with intelligence and courage, both unfortunately very much lacking...

I completely agree with UO as #1, I remember being so excited when they announced a remake of the game and so disappointed when it got cancelled...  I too have always wondered why no one ever stole the basic idea of UO and used it in another MMO...  The fact that you could basically do anything you wanted in the game was just amazing to me and frustrating...  I always loved being in a dungeon fighting a demon or dragon, and seeing someone pop up next to me and start attacking only to find out my Black Pearl was gone and I couldn't teleport out or even fight back magically since BP was needed for most of the offensive spells...  :)  I played that game from day one and tho I don't play anymore every once in a while I sign up for a couple of months just to experience it again... 

I would also like to see them redo Earth and Beyond, I really did enjoy that game and was sad when it ended...  The day it opened I got my copy by UPS at 8am loaded it (I had been playing the beta) and logged in...  For 15 mins I was the only one in the universe...  Until a guild mate finally signed on and we went hunting... 

Originally posted by Dana

Originally posted by Vinterkrig

i agree with all except City of Heros... no thanks

you need daoc in there too

AC was pretty much "remade" and it failed

 

honestly, sometimes things are better left alone, and most of these mmos would never fly in the new markets without being noobified which means they'd suck

 

It helps if you read the list before trashing it ;)

DAoC is #2 and AC2 is addressed

In a previous mmo forum they said they are thinking of revamping the DAOC mmo so do not be thinking it will never come to be DAOC 2 is going to for sure it was and is a game they rules all mmo’s IMO .
Go for it MYTHIC get on the ball we need DAOC back these otherr games are not cutting the mustard!
 

I havent had the fortune to play most of these  but I have played COH/COVand making a charactor was for the most part more interesting than the actual  content   which I call "THUG BASHING"   which to me felt very grindy and repetitive  and definatly did not feel very heroic   I wanted to rescue people from burning buildings  stop an astroid headed for the planet  hell even getting a cat from a tree lol.

********

I might also put STAR WARS GALAXIES  in this list   everyone knows of its EPIC FAIL  I think that if sony really got serious  and steped back and look at all the errors  and really addressed all the issues  in a remake  that it could be a big scifi contender.

get away from all that procedural crap and the generic spawn generators   and make quests and content relevant and immersive  and the players will come.   dont dumb it down!   dont say your adding a spece expansion and then players find out its a glorified x-wing arcade!   have some balls  (on my little pet peeve  you didnt need to drink WATER on tatooine  it was only used for medicine??? bleh!  my example of  crafting as an afterthought to the world.

**********

next on my list would be EVE ONLINE   this game has its little nitch   ind is  prety serious at the economy  but its still old and lacking in many reguards   its planets and systems are nice but procedurally generic  there for the most part  just scenery and have no play in the game  no fighting to claim them, no ground battles or orbital bombardment  and no planetary resources (the commodities are abstract creations)   the universe is lager 5000 + 2500 systems now i think  but there is no insintive to explore  if anything  its far too lethal to even try  because  they have HARD CORE FREE FOR ALL PVP  which is a casual players NOMANS LAND 

My suggestion would be to update and improve the solar systems and add semi unique space objects    overhaul their painfully stark misson system,, and  limit PVP so casual players have more freedom   EVE2 would probably exceed 1 million players in a month or so. the biggest reason im not playing EVE right now is that  PVP is not how I want to enjoy eve   and you cant excape it ieven in empire space they will "WARDEC" on non-combat  corps  which effectivly destroys them  in short order.

there has allready been a mass exodus from EVE  into LIMBO   and when STAR TREK ONLINE goes live   if its half as good as players expect  the current EVE population will drop by as much as 1/3 or more leaving the hard core PVP jerks to go play with themselves. 

no lastly a game that only bairly made it out of the gate  SEED  had a great story idea   but bitterly TERRIBLE development

the story is that you wake up on a crashed  teraforming coliny ship  your ship is seriously damaged many things need repair, and you have no idea what awaits you outside  this theme has so much potential  it really needs someone to give it a real effort

you can spend the first part of the game just keeping the ship from exploding  and getting life support working, finding food stores and equipment  and getting the lights to stop flickering, then if that isnt enough you have several possibilities  build an outpost, try to salvage the teraforming gear  decide to bake a base underground, go exploring  the number if mysteries and unknowns is enormous not to menton if there are anamals or aliens or even other colonies,, not even the color of the sky or planets or the climate is known  its a whole new world to explore   sounds fun to me!

the list was good, and it does really surprise me that UO hasn't been remade or EA hasn't churned out a sequel.

aren't they the company of the sequel? i mean look at the madden 200X games, i saw madden 09 next to 10 a few weeks ago.

yet they aren't going for churning out UO2 for extra money to make another sequel to make another sequal? very weird

as for Daoc, i think they should do a sequel, but just take all the stuff that people liked about daoc(the setting, the classes, the RvR, the builds) and just upgrade the graphics and maybe make clustering for everyone.

heck i'd play Daoc now, but there is only like 2500 people playing and it started to die when i started.

i would go for an eq revamp, new models, better spell effects, and updated server systems.

if sony wouldn't feel the need to destroy what made the classes fun, i wouldn't mind them changing some things.

as for SB, i have to really ask why people liked it?

i didn't find it the least bit interesting and the concept of player-run cites seemed only good on paper and never worked in practice

i've heard the horror stories from when the game started and how basically it basically turned into one guild controlling the server.

thats besides the hacking that went on, it was almost as bad as darkfall.

Shadowbane isn't on the list because it's already been remade.  The remake is called Darkfall.

As to the article well yes thats a pretty good list and some decent reasons for doing it.  Job well done really.

Originally posted by risenbones

Shadowbane isn't on the list because it's already been remade.  The remake is called Darkfall.

As to the article well yes thats a pretty good list and some decent reasons for doing it.  Job well done really.

An actual SB sequel would be absolutely tremendous.  I would instantly purchase a lifetime subscription.  I would probably quit my job and become a hermit. 

SB had such great character development and group PvP, it's a shame that people even equate DF with SB.  The only features that are similar are FFA PvP and sieging.

UO,  DAoC and AC would be also be on my list.

Originally posted by risenbones

Shadowbane isn't on the list because it's already been remade.  The remake is called Darkfall.

As to the article well yes thats a pretty good list and some decent reasons for doing it.  Job well done really.

Darkfall isn't nearly the game Shadowbane was.  Not by a long shot.

Sign me up for Asheron's Call 3!!!!!!     

Originally posted by demongoat

the list was good, and it does really surprise me that UO hasn't been remade or EA hasn't churned out a sequel.

aren't they the company of the sequel? i mean look at the madden 200X games, i saw madden 09 next to 10 a few weeks ago.

yet they aren't going for churning out UO2 for extra money to make another sequel to make another sequal? very weird

 

as for Daoc, i think they should do a sequel, but just take all the stuff that people liked about daoc(the setting, the classes, the RvR, the builds) and just upgrade the graphics and maybe make clustering for everyone.

heck i'd play Daoc now, but there is only like 2500 people playing and it started to die when i started.

i would go for an eq revamp, new models, better spell effects, and updated server systems.

if sony wouldn't feel the need to destroy what made the classes fun, i wouldn't mind them changing some things.

 

as for SB, i have to really ask why people liked it?

i didn't find it the least bit interesting and the concept of player-run cites seemed only good on paper and never worked in practice

i've heard the horror stories from when the game started and how basically it basically turned into one guild controlling the server.

thats besides the hacking that went on, it was almost as bad as darkfall.

Lots of reasons players, at least thoughtful players, loved Shadowbane.

The character creation and development was the best in the history of gaming. Period. Not close.

The "world" PvP was good in and of itself. It had meaning. It was harsh, but not that harsh, really. You were always hunted by - or hunting - other players.

The siege system was unique. It still is actually. Nobody else has done it so well.

The player created politics were unmatched.

The mines, hotzones, rune-droppers -combined with experience gain through PvP - all of these were new in the market and worked well to generate conflict.

There were other great things about the game, and yes, quite a few bugs - especially early on. Still, I've played everything major and most things minor since UO - including all of the games on this list, (although never AC in its heyday) and nothing - nothing - comes close to Shadowbane. I'd play it now if I could. And I'd pay well for it.

I'm going to guess you didn't play very long at all. The learning curve was remarkably high and I suspect you didn't make it far ennough to understand or really participate in some of these things.
 

Originally posted by CoolWaters

Originally posted by demongoat

the list was good, and it does really surprise me that UO hasn't been remade or EA hasn't churned out a sequel.

aren't they the company of the sequel? i mean look at the madden 200X games, i saw madden 09 next to 10 a few weeks ago.

yet they aren't going for churning out UO2 for extra money to make another sequel to make another sequal? very weird

 

as for Daoc, i think they should do a sequel, but just take all the stuff that people liked about daoc(the setting, the classes, the RvR, the builds) and just upgrade the graphics and maybe make clustering for everyone.

heck i'd play Daoc now, but there is only like 2500 people playing and it started to die when i started.

i would go for an eq revamp, new models, better spell effects, and updated server systems.

if sony wouldn't feel the need to destroy what made the classes fun, i wouldn't mind them changing some things.

 

as for SB, i have to really ask why people liked it?

i didn't find it the least bit interesting and the concept of player-run cites seemed only good on paper and never worked in practice

i've heard the horror stories from when the game started and how basically it basically turned into one guild controlling the server.

thats besides the hacking that went on, it was almost as bad as darkfall.

 

Lots of reasons players, at least thoughtful players, loved Shadowbane.

The character creation and development was the best in the history of gaming. Period. Not close.

The "world" PvP was good in and of itself. It had meaning. It was harsh, but not that harsh, really. You were always hunted by - or hunting - other players.

The siege system was unique. It still is actually. Nobody else has done it so well.

The player created politics were unmatched.

The mines, hotzones, rune-droppers -combined with experience gain through PvP - all of these were new in the market and worked well to generate conflict.

There were other great things about the game, and yes, quite a few bugs - especially early on. Still, I've played everything major and most things minor since UO - including all of the games on this list, (although never AC in its heyday) and nothing - nothing - comes close to Shadowbane. I'd play it now if I could. And I'd pay well for it.

 

I'm going to guess you didn't play very long at all. The learning curve was remarkably high and I suspect you didn't make it far ennough to understand or really participate in some of these things.
 

In his defense, I must say as someone who did make it far enough to explore the other concepts of the game, I  (and many others), found far more flaws that hindered the short list of good things that you mentioned.

I will admit though, the character creation was one of the best part about SB.....but was that a good thing?