🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <bmartin.2...@origin.ea.com>,
Brian Martin <bma...@origin.ea.com> wrote:
>Hello There,
>
>My name is Brian, and I am one of the many Ultima 9 team members. Right now, 
>U9 is in the early developemental stage, and we want to know what you, the RPG 
>fan, would like to see in the next Ultima. 

By this point, you've probably realized that Usenetters are impossible to
please.  ;)  Giving us a broad task like this means your going to get 110%
of all possible answers.  Of course, that doesn't prevent me from adding
in my own 8088 cents...

First, I would suggest a LOT of customizability.  As can be seen from this
thread, everybody's tastes are slightly different.  The more gameplay can
be customized, the better.  Reference System Shock for how it ought to be
done.  The more categories and levels of customization you have, the
happier everybody will be.  (I thought 4x4 was a little skimpy for SS.  But
since it's primarily an action game, it's not that bad.)

Combat
------
This is probably where you'll get the most conflicting opinions.  Personally,
I hate strategic combat.  Micromanaging every single #$$@%! party member
really gets in the way, and makes me feel as if I'm incarnated in 6 different
bodies, instead of playing a single character.  On the other hand, some
people love moving everything around.  Personally, I would suggest system
similar to Ultima 7's:  Allow every character to have a general strategy,
or be controlled by the player.  INCLUDING the Avatar.  Add another check
box that allows combat to proceed a) real time, b) turn by turn, or c)
character by character (like U6).  And -please,- increase combat AI for
everyone, including the monsters!

Story
-----
Big.  Epic.  Surprising.  Maybe the story could start out with the Avatar
battling the Guardian -- and winning!  Having Big Red keel over at the
beginning of the game would definitely liven things up -- as well as giving
the writers an opportunity to come up with something original.
It's an interesting challenge:  How do you keep the plot twists that make
the game interesting, yet keep the game non-linear enough to be enjoyable?
I dunno.  But I think the answer lies in a good conversation system...

NPCs
----
More!  More!  More!  Ultimas have always had less people than your average
ghost town.  (U6 had <200.  U7 may have had even less.)  Of course, writing
scripts for 1000 characters is tedious at best.  And I've always hated those
generic 'guard' like characters that always say the same three lines.
Of course, I also hate having to talk to every single person in the faint
hope that I might stumble across a clue.  Ultima 7 was just about perfect:
the 'important' people always helped you, while the 'unimportant' people
didn't necessarily help you in your quest, but always had something 
interesting happening in their lives.  Perhaps you could hire a horde of
cheap writers to handle the 'bit' parts, while the main story could be
handled by the regular team.  Whatever you do, the more non-essential
personnel (cooks, stable boys, children, servants, just plain average Joes)
in the game, the more real it feels.  Hey -- it's going to be on a CD,
right?  Fill it up!

Graphics
--------
Have you seen the Relentless demo?  (Also known as 'Little Big Adventure'.)
The characters are -perfect.-  All it needs is a graphically rich world 
for the characters to walk around in.  The way ceiling 'cut away' when
necessary is just right, as well.  None of the U8 problem of not being able
to see your character.

Sound
-----
U8 was lovely on my Sound Canvas.  As usual, I want more...  ;)  Well, you
folks spent $3 million on WC3; this time, spend the money on writers,
artists, and musicians, and give us more of what makes the game great!
(Fill it up!)  I'm not sure what I like more, though; U7's environmentally
cued music, or U8's constant area-based music.  Maybe a cross between the
two; have music playing more often, but allow each area to have a variety
of themes, so we don't get too many repeats.  (Fill it up!)

Cut-scenes
----------
Flics?  Who needs 'em!  Serpent Isle and Ultima 8 had the right idea.
Cut scenes that use the graphic engine of the game to show what's going
on.  This doesn't take up a whole lot of space, which allows you to spend
more space on music, in-game graphics, and conversations.  However, I do
like a lot of cut scenes, no matter how they're implemented.  They give
the game a feeling of moving along, as well as providing a little 'reward'
for the player.  Using the in-game graphic engine allows you to include a
lot of these without disrupting the flow of the game.  Whatever you do...
please -- no live actors.  CGI looks great, and you could spend the money
on something much more entertaining (fill it up!).

Gameplay
--------
I really like the options the Avatar had in U8.  Now, TEACH HIM HOW TO SWIM!
Ditch the required arcade jumping sequences... maybe this could be one of
the game options; or, you could simply allow another way past.  Please add
the ability to target jumps.  When was the last time you saw someone how
could jump exactly six feet -- no more, and no less?

Oh well.. that's as much as I can think of right now.  I'm sure other people
will have plenty of other ideas for you.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to make suggestions.

-Jim Little  (ji...@teleport.com)