The novel trilogy The Technocrat War plays in UO2's world and was meant as big advertisement.In Ultima IX: Ascension, the televisions in the Avatar's home on Earth show advertisements for Ultima Online 2.Just a few years later, history repeated itself when EA cancelled Ultima X: Odyssey in 2004. About one-third of the team that worked on UO2 joined Destination Games to work on Richard Garriott's MMORPG, Tabula Rasa. EA feared that UO2 would compete for subscribers with UO, which was still profitable and not showing signs of slowing down. Shortly after, EA announced it had laid off 200 employees including some at Origin Systems.
In March 2001, Electronic Arts (parent company of Origin) announced that development on Ultima Worlds Online: Origin would cease in order to provide additional support for Ultima Online. The game also would have emphasized grouping, including groups of 20-30 players, and reduced the ability of single players to become all-around grand-masters (i.e., prevent the notorious "tank-mage" characters that appeared in UO). player combat was to be disabled by default (except in special areas, such as arenas). The design also changed several aspects that players voiced dislike for in the original UO.
The most noticeable advancement was the competitive 3D engine that replaced UO's aging isometric view. UO2, billed as a "2nd generation MMORPG", was to improve upon Ultima Online and previous MMORPGs.
0 kommentar(er)
