URU... Back From The Dead

[Signe]

From Cyan Worlds, the makers of Myst® and Riven™, Uru Live™is the next chapter of the Myst franchise and the most immersive and ambitious Myst experience ever created. The game is bigger, better, and more innovative than any of the previous Myst adventures. Players can move at their own pace, spending hours discovering visually stunning real-time 3D worlds, solving a large variety of mind-challenging puzzles, enjoying the company of other explorers, and following an epic storyline.

Please check out  www.urulive.com for more information.

On the website you will find the Uru Live Beta signup and Uru Live Survey

Thanks,

Ryan Warzecha
Uru Live Community Manager
Cyan Worlds, Inc.

Go on, sign up. You know you want to, you big girlies, you!

(move this, if there's a better place for it)

[WayAbvPar]

Are you on some kind of crappy game newsletter distribution list? You seem to have your finger on the pulse of the worst of the industry  :-D

[Signe]

I'm just trying to help all the cynical and jaded gamers and ex-gamers from f13 find their own little place in the MMO world.  That's all.  It's like a favour.  I'm being nice.  It's my altruism shining through. 

[stray]

I misplaced my Uru box. Oh well.

[edit]

Damnit. I'm probably not going to go away that easily...

[Yegolev]

It's my altruism shining through. 

Not our fault you have man-hands.  Why must we suffer too?

Is the new trend for a MOG to slip into a coma rather than actually dying off, returning later hoping to gather some fans like a resurrected soap opera star?

[WayAbvPar]

I'm just trying to help all the cynical and jaded gamers and ex-gamers from f13 find their own little place in the MMO world.  That's all.  It's like a favour.  I'm being nice.  It's my altruism shining through. 

Really?


I thought it was revenge for calling you Feet.

[Soukyan]

It's my altruism shining through. 

Not our fault you have man-hands.  Why must we suffer too?

Is the new trend for a MOG to slip into a coma rather than actually dying off, returning later hoping to gather some fans like a resurrected soap opera star?

If so, it's working... now where's my Uru box?

[Righ]

Is the new trend for a MOG to slip into a coma rather than actually dying off, returning later hoping to gather some fans like a resurrected soap opera star?

No, you're just starting to notice a pattern. Before one can analyse patterns, you need to understand the structure of the forces behind them, their context and their configuration. You are becoming one with the MMOG, Yegolev-san, embrace the spirit of the catass, and grind!

[Falconeer]

Is the new trend for a MOG to slip into a coma rather than actually dying off, returning later hoping to gather some fans like a resurrected soap opera star?

Apparently, the only one gone for good is Motor City Online, despite the community tried to buy it back from EA for years (they asked 30millions 0__0).

Sob!

[Roac]

Are you on some kind of crappy game newsletter distribution list? You seem to have your finger on the pulse of the worst of the industry  :-D

They announced Uru was comming back sometime back when they said SB wasn't going to die.  Not sure if it's part of a new strategy, but it's a fuzzy one if so.  Either way, good for Uru; not my cup of tea, but the fans for the game are among the nicer of any that I've delt with for a game, and they're very dedicated. 

[Soln]

talk about niche

when are they going to bring back the first gen of online NWN?

[WindupAtheist]

Signe, you have to quit posting things like this.  It's like filling a liquor bottle with antifreeze and leaving it under a freeway overpass for the night.  Sure, you're not FORCING anyone to drink it.  But you and I both know there's going to be a dead hobo under there in the morning, and their degraded capacity for exercising good judgement doesn't put you off the hook.

Stop throwing poisoned crack at the monkeys with pipes.

[Soukyan]

Signe, you have to quit posting things like this.  It's like filling a liquor bottle with antifreeze and leaving it under a freeway overpass for the night.  Sure, you're not FORCING anyone to drink it.  But you and I both know there's going to be a dead hobo under there in the morning, and their degraded capacity for exercising good judgement doesn't put you off the hook.

Stop throwing poisoned crack at the monkeys with pipes.

Speaking of dead hobos, how's UO these days?


I couldn't resists. I won't do it again... in this thread.

[edlavallee]

Signe, you have to quit posting things like this.  It's like filling a liquor bottle with antifreeze and leaving it under a freeway overpass for the night.  Sure, you're not FORCING anyone to drink it.  But you and I both know there's going to be a dead hobo under there in the morning, and their degraded capacity for exercising good judgement doesn't put you off the hook.

Stop throwing poisoned crack at the monkeys with pipes.

Holy Dennis Miller, Batman!!

[HaemishM]

Is the new trend for a MOG to slip into a coma rather than actually dying off, returning later hoping to gather some fans like a resurrected soap opera star?

Apparently, the only one gone for good is Motor City Online, despite the community tried to buy it back from EA for years (they asked 30millions 0__0).

Sob!

You forgot 10-6 and Earth and Beyond, both of which died and stayed dead, proper dead.

[stray]

Not that I liked it, but E&B was much better than many MMO's still living.

The death of MCO was definitely unnecessary though.

[Falconeer]

New (?) URU interview:  http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm?gameId=261&setView=features&loadFeature=713&bhcp=1

Rand Miller answers our questions about URU Live's return, future and partnerships

Rand Miller, CEO of Cyan Worlds, talks to us about how URU Live was reborn. Originally developed a few years ago, the online portion of this Myst sequel was canceled by UBISoft before it ever got off the ground. Recently, Miller and his company announced a partnership with Turner and GameTap to bring it back.
MMORPG.com:   How has URU LIVE evolved from the popular MYST series?
Rand Miller:   

Uru Live represents what would happen if all of the story and back-story surrounding the Myst saga was discovered to be true, and the D'ni cavern - the very hub of the ancient civilization - was discovered deep beneath the New Mexico desert. Now we can go see for ourselves. And discover what happens next.

Of technologically Uru is state-of-the-art. The slide-show still images of Myst have been replaced with rich real-time 3D environments.
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MMORPG.com:   MYST was a very immersive game for players, how well do you feel it will translate to an online experience?
Rand Miller:   

Uru is even more immersive. Think of ever expanding Myst ages that can be explored in real-time 3D with friends. In a live online experience there is opportunity to offer a much more "real" experience - the world itself comes alive. That living aspect happens in two primary ways. First is the idea of other real people that bring an unpredictable aspect to the adventure. There are other people taking the journey that I can share the experience with. And secondly (and just as important) is the idea of this world being dynamic. Because we have an online connection, the world is changeable and alive. New places can be added, old places can change.

The key is that every time I visit the worlds of Uru, I'm excited about what I might find
MMORPG.com:   Explain how the game was revived with the help of GameTap and Turner Broadcasting System.
Rand Miller:   

Uru Live never really got a chance to go "live". It was cancelled before it officially launched. But there was a huge amount of interest from the community. Long story short - Turner and Cyan have had a few opportunities to work together in the past that didn't pan out. The chance to resurrect Uru under GameTap seemed like a perfect fit for everyone.
MMORPG.com:   What game features from the classic MYST series can players expect to find? Will there be lots of puzzles?
Rand Miller:   

Uru of course will have puzzles that follow the Myst legacy. But because it's so vast and dynamic there is room to add other forms of gameplay and entertainment. There is potential for competitive play, as well as skill-based, and even simple social oriented games. In addition there is a story that flows in and around everything in Uru.
MMORPG.com:   How will characters be able to customize their avatars as well as islands? Will they have a creation screen and housing options?
Rand Miller:   

Yes. Uru has a very rich character customization area. The idea is that this is all really happening and you have stumbled on it. You live this amazing adventure. You are you. U.R.U.

And while Uru provides a community area where people can meet and explore, it also has a very personal aspect that provides a private age to every player. Over the course of exploring the ever expanding worlds of Uru, you have the chance to take little pieces "home" with you, providing for a unique customization of your own age.
MMORPG.com:   MYST was very much an immersive single player game. How will players grouping together enhance that style of game play?
Rand Miller:   

In Uru it's up to the player whether they want to explore alone, with a few friends, or with a larger group. So the experience can be whatever the player wants. With that said, we've found that even in our single-player games, most people usually explored with friends - either sitting together in front of the computer, or via phone conversations throughout the adventure. Sharing the adventure definitely enhances the experience.
MMORPG.com:   Will avatars have classes or careers to choose from? Will players have the option to raise their characters abilities in certain areas?
Rand Miller:   

Uru is oriented around players real choices. The more you explore the more you understand things and you hone your actually skill in Uru. The D'ni culture was organized around a guild system that will certainly provide options for players to choose from in the future as well. But the idea is to provide enticing places and story-line to explore rather than to provide a mechanism for leveling a character.
MMORPG.com:   Do you have to be a member of GameTap to play URU LIVE?
Rand Miller:   

We're still working out the detail with Turner and GameTap to make Uru as accessible as possible.
MMORPG.com:   The URU LIVE Web site mentions the possibility of fan created content. Can you elaborate on that for our readers?
Rand Miller:   

The worlds of Myst have always been based on the idea of writing books that link to ages. One of our goals with Uru is to provide more and more tools that allow fans to "write" their own ages. It's not an easy task to write an age, but it is a direction is very exciting.
MMORPG.com:   Are there any enhancements being made to the game from its 2003 beta release?
Rand Miller:   

We've been fixing a lot of stuff that we didn't get a chance to fix when Uru was cancelled. And we're building more places for people to explore, and some surprising story elements that people never got a chance to experience.
MMORPG.com:   What are your plans for a launch date? Will there be a beta?
Rand Miller:   

All we know now is that we will launch during the 2006 holiday season, and there will be a beta.
MMORPG.com:   Can you give us some history on the D’ni civilization and how they will play a part in the game?
Rand Miller:   

The D'ni arrived at earth 10,000 years ago and set up shop deep underground. It was their contact with a woman from the surface that altered their history and destroyed their civilization. That woman was the grandmother of Atrus - the main character in the Myst series. Atrus learned from the D'ni and his entire family was affected. Now the D'ni are gone, but their grand underground city remains - haunted with the legacy of their power and their destruction - and ready to be rediscovered.
MMORPG.com:   Player will get the chance to take part in an epic story line; will there be side quests or stories for players to explore as well?
Rand Miller:   

The Uru story is ongoing and involves anyone and everyone who happens to be there to watch it and affect it. There are characters that take part in the story that even somewhat blur the line between players and actors. In the course of exploring the vast ages, players may find themselves in the middle of Uru history.
MMORPG.com:   Does Cyan Worlds have any other games lined up for development?
Rand Miller:   

Cyan is always coming up with entertaining new ideas. Many of them will never see the light of day, but we hope at least a couple will grow into entirely new products.
MMORPG.com:   Do you see MMOs becoming more immersive in the future?
Rand Miller:   

Absolutely. Interactive world development continues to mature - allowing developers to offer more and more diverse ways to be immersed. We'll just have to remember to step out into the real world and breathe every now and then. :)

I could be a total puppet, but I still can't figure out the gameplay.
Or the endgame. Or the replayability value. Or the need for a multiplayer feature in the first place in a game like this (and yes, I had the chance to play URU back in 2003 and even betatest the multiplayer portion for a very little while).

[Soln]

was thinking the same -- where's the advancement?  do you unlock something like a class or a new area or some customization ability? 

as they say, "what's my motivation?", particularly since there are other players running around seeing the stuff as me, simultaneously

[Numtini]

If I remember, you go on to the next puzzle. Apparently they thought they could win that arms race with the players.

The big thing for me is that making it multiplayer defeats the purpose. Everyone knows what will happen. People will "help" others to get through the puzzles. In fact, some seemed to require multiplayer, but if your friend has done it and you haven't, is he or she really going to stand around at some random point, when they know they have to pull the level at point A, so you can go through the door at point B? Let's be honest, they're just going to tell you what to do.

In most games that's fine. Nobody in Guildwars gets concerned because everyone knows "the trick" to have one person run to the top and pull the lever and the other runs through on the newbie mission. Because there's a newbie mission. But in Uru, the trick is the entire game.

I brought this up back when it first went into beta and got shouted down by the fanboys. These people were the most rabid ones I'd ever encountered. They were almost religiously devoted to Myst's world and simply couldn't understand that standing there and being in the world or doing a puzzle wasn't going to be fun to the mass market.

The controls were clunky and difficult as well. The closest thing would probably be Second Life.

[stray]

Hmm, sounds pretty much the same as it was before. I don't see any reason why this won't tank again.


It was very cool looking though. At least from what I recall.

[edit]

Actually, I'm going to have to credit URU for being the first MMO that actually had things like gap jumping (ala Pitfall, etc..), purposely designed mazes, and other similar obstacles. That's more than I can say for other games.

[Soln]

well it sounds cool, but yeah -- one spoiler site could tank it I imagine.

I still wonder about progression.  Your character has to have some kind of meaningful advancement.  Because otherwise "solving the next puzzle" isn't going to mean much. Everyone will be the same.  And people will be able to run through it quickly once the solutions are posted.


Edit: BTW the last provider that had on "old" successful franchise and moved it to the MMO genre was Blizarilla.  Just sayin'

[Sunbury]

Actually, I'm going to have to credit URU for being the first MMO that actually had things like gap jumping (ala Pitfall, etc..), purposely designed mazes, and other similar obstacles. That's more than I can say for other games.

Asheron's Call 1 has jumping, and in some dungeons careful jumping is required.  The longer you hold down the space bar, the higher/farther you jump, running and jumping is different than standing and jumping, and jumping is a skill you can spend xp in, such that you can eventually jump over fort walls.

[edlavallee]

Not the first but CoH has jumping in several varieties including a very fun green skinned hulkish travel power called super jump. And yes, it can be used strategically but it is not a requirement for goal accomplishment.

[stray]

but it is not a requirement for goal accomplishment.

Yeah, CoH Superjump is great, but that's all I meant.

Uru had well thought out obstacles and puzzles i.e. crossing gaps, chasms, trying to find a hidden passageway or ladder. Things like that. Among the other Adventure game problem solving puzzles (which other MMO's don't have either).

[pxib]

Well... if I recall advancement centered around finding unusual hats and T-shirts, discovering weird customizations for your Rel'to (sic?), and collecting new diaries and linking books to put on your bookshelf. One spoiler site "ruins" it, but a large portion of the fanboys are competely, rabidly anti-spoiler. They'll give you subtle hints for days. They will give you subtle hints in D'ni if you prefer. They will give you subtle hints in D'ni that reference the lives of the D'ni kings and require an extensive knowledge of base-25 arithmetic.

There's no grind and no endgame, so everybody has all sorts of time to waste.

In the beta/prelude/disaster, they tended to waste it being clever.

[Glazius]

but it is not a requirement for goal accomplishment.

Yeah, CoH Superjump is great, but that's all I meant.

Uru had well thought out obstacles and puzzles i.e. crossing gaps, chasms, trying to find a hidden passageway or ladder. Things like that. Among the other Adventure game problem solving puzzles (which other MMO's don't have either).

Does parkour count as emergent puzzle-solving, or are we only counting puzzles placed deliberately?

(for what it's worth, you can theoretically get to any mission door from any point in City of Heroes, using only unslotted sprint.)

--GF

[tazelbain]

All travel powers in CoH are fun as hell.

[stray]

or are we only counting puzzles placed deliberately?

Yes, because URU is mainly an adventure game. Deliberately placed puzzles is what it's about. CoH is more akin to Parkour, I think.

[bhodi]

All travel powers in CoH are fun as hell.

It's what made me play the game way more than I should have. The idea that you can get to where you're going without having to wait is part of the game I loved the most. Screw everyone who says that teleportation and fast movement shrinks the world. I don't care about that. What I do care about is being unable to get to my friends in a short amount of time, or get to my foozle whacking point to have fun.

[edlavallee]

(for what it's worth, you can theoretically get to any mission door from any point in City of Heroes, using only unslotted sprint.)

--GF

And I could walk to work too. I don't disagree in concept, only in feasibility and fun factor.

[tazelbain]

I meant fun as in "jumping off a skyscraper and turning on flight just before you hit the ground"

[bhodi]

(for what it's worth, you can theoretically get to any mission door from any point in City of Heroes, using only unslotted sprint.)

--GF

Imagine walking to where you're going in faultline.

[edlavallee]

I meant fun as in "jumping off a skyscraper and turning on flight just before you hit the ground"

Or, how about flying to the ceiling and summoning a non-flying group member to you... Loads of fun while they fall to the ground wondering how the hell they got so high. But then again, I heard they put in a confirmation check so you can't suprise people anymore.

[Glazius]

(for what it's worth, you can theoretically get to any mission door from any point in City of Heroes, using only unslotted sprint.)

--GF

And I could walk to work too. I don't disagree in concept, only in feasibility and fun factor.

I needed to make that point a little better.

I meant, the gameworld is _designed_ so that you can get from any arbitrary point to a mission door, using only unslotted sprint, and aside from that requirement there's plenty of opportunity for parkour stuff. There's this one construction yard in Kings Row next to a  highway ramp, and if you use a cargo crate and two big sections of concrete pipe you can get up to the road. My newbies go that way all the time because I usually forget to cut through the vacant lots and the aqueduct.

I'm gonna try to get from the dam back to the Faultline doors, when the servers come back up.

--GF