New Project Entry: Retelling: Exodus
Currently in an “open alpha” release state, Retelling: Exodus is a remake of Ultima 3 using Ultima Online. It features PvP and PvM according to Ultima Online’s Felucca ruleset, and role-playing is (of course) strongly encouraged. The map of Sosaria is entirely custom, and seems to be a very expert re-creation of Ultima 3’s game world. Pirates roam the seas, slimes split into more slimes, swamps poison you…many of the finer trappings of Ultima games are present. Siege warfare and player-created cities are also enabled, and houses (though secure) can be robbed under certain conditions.
I can’t find out much about The Retelling’s creator, but he describes himself in this way:
I grew up playing the original Ultima series, I have a lot of fond memories of time spent in Britannia. I also remember the theme of interactivity, a believable, consistent world (for the most part=) with a touch of humor. I’m looking to recapture the same feeling in an MMO.
To join The Retelling, follow the directions that are linked from the project entry.
I can absolutely get behind any ultima project that uses UO as a platform, above any other.
I’d really love some Ultima solo RPG made the UO engine, that would be awesome.
A positive comment about an Ultima MMO. Let me check my window for flying pigs!
I actually just read TFA’s and it sounds like my game but using UO and an assload of scripts to mod it. The whole “young players” and skill caps are kinda weird, though. I guess UO had many patches in an effort to balance the accumulative effects of its inherent gameplay mistakes. While it sounds really cool, it makes me lament the whole process of modding. Damn modding to make a new game. So much work to still be under the heel of a corporate entity.
Well…not all of us are quite so talented as to be able to craft our own engines from scratch. Using extant engines imposes certain limitations, to be sure, but overcomes others. And vice versa.
Most talent is slowly acquired rather than innate. I think it’s more a matter of drive, which allows the talent to develop through the resulting work. In any case there are open source engines which don’t have the threat of unreasonable licensing and ever-changing, draconian EULA’s.
I think of modding as a good way to add or change content to an existing game. Doing a total conversion is almost as much work as creating an engine from scratch but still leaves someone else in the driver seat and risks making hundreds of hours of labor illegal to distribute.
It would be nice if BioWare open sourced the UO client and server code, maintaining copyright over the art assets and trademarks. It’s old as hell and I can’t believe it’s really making that much money for them. If they were really interested in maintaining an MMO they should make a new one, keeping whatever features from UO they like and coming up with some new ones as well.
Well, to be fair, BioWare is making a new MMO, and also maintaining two or three older ones: WAR, DAoC, and of course UO.
And while I can grant the point about acquiring talent to some degree, I might also point out that time itself is a precious thing. I have a wife and kids, and a day job. I also run this site. I’d love to learn how to code my own game engine…but realistically, I’d probably have to cross something else off the list to make time for such efforts.
Which would mean Aiera would have to go dark. I’m not going to get a divorce, and I’m unlikely to find someone who’d be willing to bankroll my engine work/learning enough that I could afford to drop the network analyst gig.
Spirit and flesh are willing; it’s the circumstances that are weak.
I’d also point that to create one’s own project from scratch, beside coding the engine it also means creating all art from scratch while using an existing engine allows to have a strong reserve of existing art. Coding takes time, but doing quality art from scratch can be just as time consuming. And while I can somewhat see the “everything from scratch” approach working with a rather old school approach, I don’t see this working with a 3D engine. The time approach is obviously an issue too: learning to code a good engine takes time, learning to do good art takes time, doing both? Well exponentially more than all that. And if you create your own engine and end up looking for artists, you’re basically in the same position as us using a pre-existing game – except we basically have a lot of art already.
My point of the matter being, that as great as the idea of crafting a fan project with its own engine from scratch might be, I don’t believe for a second it is viable and the fact that the only Ultima projects that seem to be going somewhere are those that were based on existing game engines is telling (I don’t need to point how much time consuming writing dialogues and all that for an Ultima scope kind takes too!)
So I can’t say I agree about a total conversion taking as much time as creating a new engine – quite the contrary actually, because while a existing engine means doing some compromise it saves a lot of time on a sort of project that is *already* very time consuming in every that needs to be done besides the engine.
I honestly don’t see how doing total conversion for engines such as Dungeon Siege, NWN(2) or TES would be any risk : because the engines were created for the purpose of allowing people to create their own adventures. The risk with Ultima project inerantly comes from the fact that we’re doing project based on a existing IP – certainly not because we’re using a pre existing game/engine. Any Ultima fan project would be as much as risk legally speaking if it were using a brand new homemade engine or a pre-existing one.
Regarding UO I’d assume the fact that it’s still rolling (with a stable use base for years now) with no indication of it ever going free to play, is pretty good indication that it’s still bringing money. I do expect a new UO to come at one point too.
What can I say. The axe has been laid upon mine skull. You’re both right, although the work involved in figuring out an existing engine could be used toward working on a new one. Also my point about using an existing open source engine wasn’t addressed.
The points about IP are accurate. Having researched whether or not I could the use outline of the continent of Britannia in a commercial project, I surely realize that (I didn’t ask EA, but consulted existing law).
Nevertheless, running a freeshard (reverse engineering, expressly illegal if unenforced), is circumvention of law and the effort should be pointed toward using an open source or in-house engine which is more permissive.
Further, by suggesting that UO be open sourced I was not suggesting that it be free to play or otherwise change the business model or logistics of the current implementation. It would just legalize and improve freeshards, and create warm feelings in general amongst the community.
Sanctimonia:
That’s because there was little to address; it’s an agreeable point. To be fair, it seems that the community support and content/tutorial availability for commercial engines like Unity or Unreal is a bit better. And also, some of the commercial engines ship with much better IDEs than those that have been crafted for the open source alternatives. Basically, it’s a “learning curve” thing.
But in general, there’s nothing to say that someone can’t pick up and run with e.g. Irrlicht and build a decent game with it, subject of course to issues and constraints as previously discussed.
Ah, Sanctimonia being a troll again.
I really wish he’d stop putting down other people’s projects in order to cover up for his own ineptitude, lack of programming prowess, and inability to reach even the most basic of deadlines.
I really feel sorry for people like Sanctimonia
As we say on the Internet (usually accompanied by a picture of Fry, from Futurama): “Not sure if spam, or trolling.”
Vladmir: This is the third name you’ve assumed on the site, and then within the last hour or two. In two such cases, you’ve made a point of singling out Sanctimonia as a target of your ire.
That flirts with the definition of trolling, you know. Be careful not to be like that which you decry.
I’m checking out the link you provided, and I hope it bears out. In the meantime, please try and refrain from calling people out too impolitely and too often.
I like spirited discourse as much as anyone, but I’d rather you avoid overtly labeling others. Feel free to expound on why you disagree with them, though. We get that a fair bit here.
Oh, and pick just one handle, okay? I like Dune, but I’d prefer the entirety of its cast not show up on the site!
@SpiceGuy: “I really wish he’d stop putting down other people’s projects in order to cover up for his own ineptitude, lack of programming prowess, and inability to reach even the most basic of deadlines.”
I just reread my posts and am at a loss as to what you’re talking about. I didn’t put down anyone’s project. Also how do you have any idea of my programming prowess or deadlines, especially considering I don’t have any deadlines.
@WtF: “I’m checking out the link you provided, and I hope it bears out. In the meantime, please try and refrain from calling people out too impolitely and too often.”
What link is that? No links from me in here that I can recall. The other thread that SpiceGuy flamed me in had a link to my YouTube Channel in response to BK’s interest in my project. I mean, I do have a ton of V|@gr@ videos mixed in amongst the dev videos, but doesn’t everybody?
Sanctimonia:
No, it was a link our Dune fan here provided in yet another thread.