UO Graphics Upgrade

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

I am sure there are many out there who do a better job keeping up with
Ultima Online than me. I was curious if there are any plans to upgrade the
graphics. A TRUE 3d enviroment would be nice. The ability to change your
characters prospective would also be a nice addition. Anyway I was hoping
this would be their next release..but it appears to just be two new
professions and some more land to build houses. Does anyone have any idea
on if/when they plan on improving the core game? Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 01:10:30 GMT, "Moirke" <moirke@nowhere.com> wrote:

>I am sure there are many out there who do a better job keeping up with
>Ultima Online than me. I was curious if there are any plans to upgrade the
>graphics. A TRUE 3d enviroment would be nice. The ability to change your
>characters prospective would also be a nice addition. Anyway I was hoping
>this would be their next release..but it appears to just be two new
>professions and some more land to build houses. Does anyone have any idea
>on if/when they plan on improving the core game? Thanks.

No, in fact they have recently reconfirmed their commitment to the classic
2D client. Even for the 3D client there are no plans to introduce a FP
perspective. Coding to allow for a horizon would be a massive undertaking
apparently. As always, it is up to you to provide your own fun in UO.

--
Michael Cecil
http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

There will be a new engine. It will probably be the next announcement for a
new release. It will not be a 1st/3rd person Everquest type thing though.
It will still be a top down isometric view just with a new engine. I like
the top down view as do most UO players.

HDTV games lists and disucssions
http://www.hdtvarcade.com

"Moirke" <moirke@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:aSYMc.4802$kU5.365296@twister.tampabay.rr.com...
> I am sure there are many out there who do a better job keeping up with
> Ultima Online than me. I was curious if there are any plans to upgrade
the
> graphics. A TRUE 3d enviroment would be nice. The ability to change your
> characters prospective would also be a nice addition. Anyway I was hoping
> this would be their next release..but it appears to just be two new
> professions and some more land to build houses. Does anyone have any idea
> on if/when they plan on improving the core game? Thanks.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

Dont know about any offical plans, but there is a fairly good fan made
client that turns the isometric vieuw into real 3d.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~dstent/ThorsIris/
http://www.ultima-iris.de/

Yours,

Parcival Dragon -=UDIC=-
Editor @ ultima.rpgdot.com

"Ollie T" <none@none.com> wrote in message news:<RIeNc.26430$WP1.25758@fe1.texas.rr.com>...
> There will be a new engine. It will probably be the next announcement for a
> new release. It will not be a 1st/3rd person Everquest type thing though.
> It will still be a top down isometric view just with a new engine. I like
> the top down view as do most UO players.
>
> HDTV games lists and disucssions
> http://www.hdtvarcade.com
>
> "Moirke" <moirke@nowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:aSYMc.4802$kU5.365296@twister.tampabay.rr.com...
> > I am sure there are many out there who do a better job keeping up with
> > Ultima Online than me. I was curious if there are any plans to upgrade
> the
> > graphics. A TRUE 3d enviroment would be nice. The ability to change your
> > characters prospective would also be a nice addition. Anyway I was hoping
> > this would be their next release..but it appears to just be two new
> > professions and some more land to build houses. Does anyone have any idea
> > on if/when they plan on improving the core game? Thanks.
> >
> >

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

>There will be a new engine. It will probably be the next announcement for a
>new release.

If you've seen some of the pictures Stratics had about few days back, they were
of the 3D client, showing the Samurai and Paladin, and the character art was
VERY different from the current 3d client.
The character models closely resemble 2D characters(finally), and even the
smaller models, armor and everything, look alot more like their 2D
counterparts, but with the detail of the 3D client's graphics.(there was a shot
of a warrior, for one, wearing a bascinet that looked more like the 2D bucket
than the 3D...umm...bigger bucket.)

It's been stated a few times that UO's not making the leap to FP anytime soon.
The difficulties of the horizon, the strain item count would put on even a
cable connection, and the MASSIVE amount of development time reconstructing the
world from isometric to first person view would be extreme, to say the least.
And can you imagine seeing houses from a first person view, considering all the
stacking and floating tricks we're forced to use to make decorations look
nice??

*envisions the floating mugs, candles, lanterns, skulls and everything and
shudders*

~Cyrus of Sosaria~

*Oh, and have you ever played Everquest? The limited view of the first person
angle would be disasterous in a game like UO, with monsters coming from every
angle...you could be walking through a vacant cavern, only to find a small army
of monsters suddenly coming up from just behind the camera...fade to black...*

 

[Ice]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

On 27 Jul 2004 04:16:57 GMT, cystocot4@cs.com (Cyrus of Sosaria) wrote:

>>There will be a new engine. It will probably be the next announcement for a
>>new release.
>
>If you've seen some of the pictures Stratics had about few days back, they were
>of the 3D client, showing the Samurai and Paladin, and the character art was
>VERY different from the current 3d client.
>The character models closely resemble 2D characters(finally), and even the
>smaller models, armor and everything, look alot more like their 2D
>counterparts, but with the detail of the 3D client's graphics.(there was a shot
>of a warrior, for one, wearing a bascinet that looked more like the 2D bucket
>than the 3D...umm...bigger bucket.)
>
>It's been stated a few times that UO's not making the leap to FP anytime soon.
>The difficulties of the horizon, the strain item count would put on even a
>cable connection, and the MASSIVE amount of development time reconstructing the
>world from isometric to first person view would be extreme, to say the least.
>And can you imagine seeing houses from a first person view, considering all the
>stacking and floating tricks we're forced to use to make decorations look
>nice??
>
That's good news to me. I cant play FP, and if they ever go that direction
I would have to quit. I have been here too long for that. *grin*

>*envisions the floating mugs, candles, lanterns, skulls and everything and
>shudders*
>
>~Cyrus of Sosaria~
>
>*Oh, and have you ever played Everquest? The limited view of the first person
>angle would be disasterous in a game like UO, with monsters coming from every
>angle...you could be walking through a vacant cavern, only to find a small army
>of monsters suddenly coming up from just behind the camera...fade to black...*

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

Cyrus of Sosaria wrote:

>>Dont know about any offical plans, but there is a fairly good fan made
>>client that turns the isometric vieuw into real 3d.
>>http://members.iinet.net.au/~dstent/ThorsIris/
>>http://www.ultima-iris.de/
>>
>
>
> Okay...that 3d client i'd play. :}
> The buildings were a tad stunted looking, but the mix of 3D art and 2D
> paperdolls is pretty interesting(and wouldn't be so bad in the real UO), and it
> brought back fond memories seeing the older 3D character models...
>
> Ahh...nostalgia...
>
> *Water effects looked amazing, too...*
> ~Cyrus of Sosaria~


Holy carp that's a great looking client. With 1st and 3rd person
views too.

--

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

Cyrus of Sosaria wrote:

<snip>
> It's been stated a few times that UO's not making the leap to FP anytime soon.
> The difficulties of the horizon, the strain item count would put on even a
> cable connection, and the MASSIVE amount of development time reconstructing the
> world from isometric to first person view would be extreme, to say the least.
> And can you imagine seeing houses from a first person view, considering all the
> stacking and floating tricks we're forced to use to make decorations look
> nice??

The way it is done in other games is just to limit the distance you can
see. Just for instance, Draken, Bards Tale, Alternate Reality. Most of
these ran on 8 bit computers. It would be better for game balance
between 2d and 3d clients if they did it that way since it wouldn't give
an unfair advantage to 3d users with what would be over the horizon
targetting vs. 2nd on screen targetting.

The way it is done is with a lot of single plane objects. What they do
is have chest, for example, with 2 pictures of it stacked over each
other in an X pattern. The geometry of the thing varies slightly but
there are always continuous lines in the middle where they two pictures
meet.
* => picture 1
- => picture 2
Both the same flat plane object
*
*
*
POV --------
*
*
*

* -
* -
* -
POV -
- *
- *
- *

Looking into the corner view gives some distortion, but you just have to
map the surface texture onto a single plan and rotate it. Or rotate and
map, no big deal since most modern video cards can do it. I mean Castle
Wolfenstien 3D could do it on a 8 mHz 286 with an 8 bit video card. I
think I read they did it all in C with only a single line of assembly code.

There is one thing I would really highly reccomend to everyone in the
group if you haven't done it: Get a copy of Ultima Underworld.

http://www.uo.com/archive/uw1/index.html

This actually hit the market before the hot Id games and was more
sophisticated. I believe it was ~1990 or 14 years ago!

http://www.peroxide.dk/underworld/

If EA/OSI weren't such weenies, they would hire Doug Church to get
things right.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.computer.ultima.online (More info?)

cystocot4@cs.com (Cyrus of Sosaria) wrote:

>If anything, the next 3D client will be an attempt to bring the look of the
>world closer to 2d's

One hopes not. 2D is *ugly*. (I've been playing 2D because my 3D
client is giving me fits after a hardware upgrade.)

In particular my dragon complains of being transformed from a massive
and majestic critter that spans the screen to a, how did he put it?,
"a constipated and crippled cartoon character".

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.