EA - Lord of Ultima

[Dhruin]

Bedwyr points to a new Ultima product, titled Lord of Ultima. What is it? Why, a browser-based multiplayer city-builder, of course!

Lord of Ultima is an online strategy game where you build your own unique city and play with thousands of other players. Join now and rule a mighty empire which you can access from wherever and whenever you want.
All you need to enter is a normal web browser...

The developer is Phenomic, by the way, the developer of Spellforce.
More information.

 

[Xian]

I have long wanted another Ultima, but this isn't it. I don't really understand this move. EA is trying to use the Ultima name for a completely different type of game that most likely won't appeal to the people that remember the franchise - the people that I would assume they are trying to attract by using the name.

It might be a great game; I loved Phenomic's Spellforce 2, but Ultima will always be an RPG to me, not a multiplayer city-builder.

 

[DArtagnan]

This sounds like a very cheap way of increasing interest.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I would like to see a game named:

Lord of EA

This would be a management and publishing simulation game, of a video games publishing company, of course, where one's goal is to achieve the first position among other, similar structures/conglomerates/companies.

It would include buying developers, too.

 

[EvilKoala]

My heart skipped a beat when I saw that 'Lord of Ultima' article in the news list. Then I read the actual article... EA

 

[Grandor Dragon]

Good things come back. There will be an Ultima-RPG somewhere in the future simply because it is such a valuable and classic franchise. In the near future however, I don't see it happening. EA already has one very successful RPG developer, Bioware, which runs several successful franchises. If they sold the name, they would just create massive competition.

 

[Bedwyr]

Grandor nailed it. It's better to keep the eggs hidden under your roof than let someone else make cake with them. Such spectacular mismanagement of a bunch of franchises.

And yeah, it looks like Evony though I don't see much boobage in the adverts yet.

 

[BillSeurer]

Good things come back. There will be an Ultima-RPG somewhere in the future simply because it is such a valuable and classic franchise.

Sometimes it is just best to just let something go. Ultima has so much history that almost anything they do no matter how good in isolation will be endlessly (and usually poorly) compared to everything done before. If they change anything they will be raked over the coals for daring to go against canon. If they don't change something they will be raked over the coals for being derivative and not being daring enough to change something. In either case many people who like the older games will hate the new one.

 

[skavenhorde]

Some things are better the next time around. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica (until that horrible ending that ruined the whole show for me), and Sam and Max. Those are just a couple of things that were dead and brought back to life.

This, however, should be thrown out with the trash. No wait, this game should be shot, stomped on, kicked around and then thrown out with the trash.

If you're going to redo an old franchise you should make damn sure it is in some way the same experience as the old one. BSG, STTNG and S&M all a lot of thing that were kept the same, but were just upgraded.

This game is like someone made a shooter out of Sam & Max. That is just wrong to even think of.

 

[Grandor Dragon]

Knowing that I might not like the new game, I didn't say that I want Ultima to be back, just that I expect it to happen eventually.

That said, I do think that Ultima fans can be very forgiving when it comes to canonicity. Sure, Ultima Ascension almost raped the stories of further Ultimas, but the outrage was not based on plot details, but on the atrocious writing, gameplay, and the overall "spirit" of the game.

As Hacki's Nitpicks page demonstrate, Ultima lore was never very consistent apart from a coupld of core concepts.

http://hacki.bootstrike.com/english/index.htm

 

[JDR13]

I actually think Ultima Ascension was a pretty decent game, although I have to admit that I was never a hardcore fan of the earlier games. I wouldn't mind seeing another game with that style of gameplay, without all the bugs of course.

 

[Grandor Dragon]

The whole idea behind the Quest of the Avatar is that it is a continuous path of self-discovery and improvement. You are not perfect, and there are always difficult choices to struggle with.

In Ascension, you play a preachy, two-dimensional paragon of virtue whose evil side was stripped away when he became the Avatar. Perhaps you can see the problem.

But I also think that the world design in Ultima Ascension was incredible for its time. Gameplay had some nice ideas, but plagued by horrible execution. In some ways, one could say that the game was ahead of its time. You could see that the design was visionary.

 

[TheMadGamer]

I stopped being surprised by things EA does a long time ago.

 

[Moorkh]

Bedwyr? *grumble*

I really can't see any reason for them to associate this to the Ultima brand except to re-use some artwork and cash in on people who have distantly heard of Ultima as an online game.
I certainly wouldn't expect them to release a new RPG title by the name anytime soon after just watering down the franchise for no good reason. And, they already have a dedicated RPG studio with a wide range of brands to fall back on...

 

[elikal]

Fallout was revived, and it was good. I see no reason why Ultima RPG should not.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

It depends on what they would make out of it.
Nowadays rather an Hack & Slash Action-RPG that that "philosophical stuff".

 

[JDR13]

Fallout was revived, and it was good. I see no reason why Ultima RPG should not.

Shhh quiet, or you risk drawing out all the angry FO fanboys.

Seriously though, I agree. Even though FO3 gets a bad rap from a lot of the old-school gamers, I though it was pretty fun.

 

[Bedwyr]

Bedwyr? *grumble*

Mmm? Yes, dear?

 

[Soulman]

*sigh*

At least they haven't forgotten that there's something called Ultima.

 

[Corwin]

And U6P Beta 2 was just released this week, with the final finished product is only weeks away at the most, so you can get your fill of classic Ultima with much better graphics and several new plot twists/additions.