EA Mythic Media Event Reports
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First on the schedule, however, was an introduction to Kingdom Reborn, a free graphical upgrade for the venerable Ultima Online, which will celebrate 10 years of live service later this year. Slated to arrive on users' hard drives sometime this spring, it addresses what may be their most frequent request by implementing a new engine that updates but doesn't break away from the game's basic look and feel. The improved visuals won't be mistaken for next-generation, but when considered in the context of what the players see on their screens now, they may take on a rather different and more favorable light.
According to Producer Aaron Cohen and Lead Designer Nick Corea, the magnitude of this undertaking is very substantial. It seems that every single art asset in the game is being replaced. Taking into account the seven expansions that have been released, the five continents in the world et al, this represents a huge number of items. A couple of other noteworthy changes were mentioned. One is an improved interface designed to be more user friendly with, for example, more convenient hotbars and less need for clicking. The other, referred to as "bright paths", is intended to help make the skill system less daunting by offering guidance.
The second is at MMORPG.com:
The biggest addition to Dark Age of Camelot for 2007 is the rise of Camelot Campaigns. Campaigns work like this: Every six months players will begin a new campaign in their respective realms. The campaign is designed to bring players together again and have them re-explore the realm they knew as home. Every two weeks, content for the campaign will be added. This will continue over the next six months until the big finale takes place. Players can with quests and eventually join up in a raid for the end content. These in-game story arcs will offer players new content without having to travel into new zones. The events will take place in older zones that the players have already explored. Walt was quick to say that these story arcs will be layered so that you an always catch up before the big event at the end of six months. Considering DAOC has a five year history, the content will be for high-level players (metrics have shown that a good portion of Camelot's player base fits into this category). Another note is that once implemented, the story arcs will remain in the game and forever change the face of the realms.
The third is at Warcry:
Beyond campaigns, EA Mythic hopes to continue the epic task of improving their signature feature: Realm vs. Realm. This PvP game is their lifeblood and through 2007 they have stated goals to optimize performance and remove any frustrations from their game. During the presentation, they pointed to the fixed water combat introduced in 1.87 earlier this month as an example.
The user interface is also getting an overhaul, piece by piece during each patch. Rabideau was not willing to give an exact idea of when the entire thing would be completed, but he estimates that players will likely have a fully 2007 user interface by the end of the year.
And the fourth is at Ten Ton Hammer:
"War is everywhere" has long been the game's mantra, and from the get-go Warhammer Online's six races and three racial pairings - Empire vs. Chaos, Elves vs. Dark Elves, and Dwarves vs. Greenskins - are designed to feel "pitted against one another in an ancient, epic feud" - all within a backdrop of struggle between the forces of Order and Destruction. The first of those racial pairings was the highlight for the event; EA Mythic gave us the chance to play about 40 minutes of the Empire and Chaos starting areas.
