EA has cancelled Ultima X: Odyssey

T

TyeDyeBoy

Spaceman
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/30/news_6101727.html

Ultima X: Odyssey pulled from production schedule as EA redirects resources toward the upcoming Ultima Online expansion pack and a second UO-related project.
On track for an early '05 release date, MMORPG Ultima X: Odyssey was summarily pulled from the production schedule today by publisher Electronic Arts.

An EA staffer said the decision was made to drop work on the MMORPG and redirect staffers toward two other Ultima-related projects, November's expansion pack to Ultima Online and an as-yet-unannounced project that leverages the UO universe.

Formerly under the guidance of lead producer Rick Hall, the game went through an evolution when its design and development staff were recently moved from EA's Austin, TX studio to the company's main Redwood Shores campus. At that time, Hall relocated to EA's Tiburon studio and UXO was placed in the hands of producer David Yee. UXO was to have picked up where the Ultima IX storyline left off.

GameSpot was told no staffers were laid off based on today's decision.
Click to expand...

Wheee!
 
woah... i would almost believe it... except for the fact that some of what he says really isnt true... like videogames... i actually recently read an article that contridicts it...it says video games are finally catching up with movies in the entertainment business, and in a few years will be bringing in more money... the reason being it puts you in the main characters POV, which immerses you more into the plot than a movie does, and more and more games are allowing you to have an affect on the ending of your game, everyone knows thats far from a new concept, but now its really starting to take hold... so i really dont think that article is right... well except for the coin run games... that might be true... alas coin run video games... i knew you well
 
ONE MAN SAW IT COMING.

(Seriously - when they decided not to hire beta testers for the game they pretty much did in Ultima X...)
 
Maniac II said:
woah... i would almost believe it... except for the fact that some of what he says really isnt true... like videogames... i actually recently read an article that contridicts it...it says video games are finally catching up with movies in the entertainment business, and in a few years will be bringing in more money... the reason being it puts you in the main characters POV, which immerses you more into the plot than a movie does, and more and more games are allowing you to have an affect on the ending of your game, everyone knows thats far from a new concept, but now its really starting to take hold... so i really dont think that article is right... well except for the coin run games... that might be true... alas coin run video games... i knew you well
Click to expand...

Yeah, he can be a little dramatic. I wouldn't say dead as much as hanging on by a thread, because there are still occurrences of innovation strong armed into the industry by highly regarded individuals. But he isn't talking about sales, he is talking about computer games as an evolving medium and artform.

For the most part though, where is innovation in computer games now? Granted features are added to existing genres. Graphics get better, gameplay is streamlined, etc, etc, etc, but games are no more immersive now than before. The stories and characters are no better. Quite the opposite, I would say there has been a regression. If there are even characters in games today, they seem to be either MMORPGs or movie spinoff games. MMORPGs don't seem to tell a story (room for innovation here, but not when everyone keeps canceling their new attempts to redefine the genre), and I doubt any movie spinoff tells a quality story of its own. The marketplace is swelling with FPS shooters and realtime strategy games that are increasingly frag fests set up for multiplayer games totally deprived of plot. Then there are the sports games, which of course lack plot as well. Computer games just seem to lack storytelling and rich characters that could make them immersive and enduring. When was the last time a game came close to making you feel like WC did?

Okay, I'm ranting and I'll stop. The links at the bottom of that previous article are interesting as well for anyone that cares.
 
When was the last time a game came close to making you feel like WC did?
Click to expand...

well you really cant compare any game to WC... but Halo made me feel pretty good... and i cant wait for Halo 2... hmm... i could/should make a new thread outa that...
 
Bandit LOAF said:
ONE MAN SAW IT COMING.

(Seriously - when they decided not to hire beta testers for the game they pretty much did in Ultima X...)
Click to expand...

I was asked to beta test it ages ago (I've done some in the past with EA :cool: ). Never heard a thing about it ever again.
Personally I'm not to disturbed by the news. The Ultima series was unfortunately killed horribly. I think they should just let it rest.
I won't be suprised if we find heaps of stuff recycled into UO.
 
I wasn't really fond with the creation of "Ultima X". In my opinion - all respect included, it would be an unworthy sequel, because it's comicaly designs (it isn't a Warcraft) and as being an online game (nothing against them, but then call it please Ultima Online II, even it will never reach the level of its predecessor).
But as the last game with an Origin logo and some good aspects, like a neat soundtrack, I hoped a bit for a success of the game.

But WoW an intuitive MMORPG, Everquest 2 a tech monster, Lineage II another online game, which used a modified Unreal2 engine and at last Tabula Rasa... they are hardly to beaten opponents. Now UX shares the same destiny as Mythica and Warhammer Online :-(
 
Wolf Dog said:
Thought this would be a good thread in which to share an article I was reading online yesterday that contained a WC reference.
Click to expand...
Eh, anything Chris Crawford has to say needs to be taken with more than a grain of salt. He may be a pretty good game designer, but he also seems to be a really bitter guy - I've read various articles and interviews about him, and the impression I get is that he's complaining mainly because nobody in the early 90s was willing to give him money to develop games. When he says "a lot of talented people were shut out of the market", he's talking about himself. What he neglects to mention however, is that people didn't want to give him money not because they were only interested in big projects, but because his last few games had all been commercial failures.
 
Bandit LOAF said:
All indications are that EA will continue to use the Origin logo in future titles.
Click to expand...

Excuse my lack of attention. :eek:
I must miss this information or just forgot it (Indeed, they use this logo for further UO expansions).

<rhetoric>Mh... isn't it an abuse to use a logo of a great game developer, which doesn't exists in formal ways anymore?</rhetoric>
 
The Ultima series was unfortunately killed horribly.
Click to expand...
In my opinion, Ultima 7 was the last ultima game. In ultima 9 you cant even move freely, and the avatar didnt need food.
I guess U8 was okay, BUT IT WAS NOT IN BRITANNIA!
 
In U9 the avatar have ultima online 2 installed on his computer. Was origin planning to make it or was it a joke?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top